A ROSYTH teenager assaulted a 15-year-old girl viciously at Silver Sands beach.

Attacker Lewis Clay had assaulted a police officer in Dunfermline previously.

He avoided being locked up narrowly when he appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court but was told he was on his last chance.

Clay, 18, of Whinnyburn Place, admitted that on November 27, 2020, near Coady’s, Pilmuir Street, he assaulted a police officer by pushing him to the face and knocking his glasses off.

He also admitted that on March 18 last year, at Silver Sands, Aberdour, he assaulted a girl then aged 15 by punching her repeatedly on the head and body to her injury.

Depute fiscal Eve McKaig said Clay was at Silver Sands beach with friends from around 3pm.

At around 7pm, he became involved in an argument with the 15-year-old girl which escalated into a fight between them lasting several minutes, the court was told.

It had stopped and the girl was sitting down when Clay walked over to her and began punching her to the head and body.

“Due to the severity of the attack, a witness began recording it on their mobile phone,” added the depute.

The girl’s friends grabbed her and pulled her away from Clay. The victim was taken to hospital with cuts around her eyes and swelling to her face.

An X-ray showed no fractures but she had sustained a black eye and had signs of concussion.

In the earlier offence, at around 7.30pm, police officers on mobile patrol had spotted a group of around six young people drinking alcohol in Carnegie Drive.

The police car stopped and the officers went to speak to the group. “The accused is described as having come out of nowhere, lunging towards an officer and punching him to the face and head,” said the depute.

Clay ran off towards Pilmuir Street and was followed by the police. He again lunged at an officer and had been sprayed with PAVA then put in handcuffs.

The officer sustained swelling to his face and attended hospital for an X-ray.

The court heard that Clay had been put on a community payback order for this offence but had breached it on three occasions.

Defence solicitor Elaine Buist said: “He’s got an extremely poor recollection of both incidents.”

Sheriff Wylie Robertson imposed a community payback order with 18 months of supervision and 130 hours of unpaid work for the earlier incident.

There will be a review of Clay’s progress on the order on January 11.

On the latter offence, sentence was deferred for good behaviour until the same day.

The sheriff said he was “just persuaded” not to send Clay into custody but warned him that could still happen and that he now had a “sword of Damocles” hanging over him.