A Royal Marine who punched a pal in the street outside a Helensburgh pub and left him with a brain bleed has been spared a prison sentence.

Andrew Hind, 26, appeared for sentencing on February 13, having previously pleaded guilty to assault by punching the man to the head, rendering him unconscious and severely injured.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court had previously heard that the incident, which left the victim lying flat on the pavement in West Clyde Street, happened after the victim told Hind to stop hurling verbal abuse a woman they spoke to after the pair left the Clyde Bar.

There was initially a dispute over a detail of the case, heard first by Sheriff Maxwell Hendry and then by Sheriff Euan Cameron, over whether Hind had thrown a single punch or more than one.

Hind's defence solicitor told the court: "He says it was one punch. He is not trying to minimise the seriousness of the punch."

Sheriff Cameron told Hind and his lawyer to decide if they were now disputing the charge and narration of facts originally agreed to.

The impasse was eventually resolved, and the sheriff imposed a community payback order with 12 months of supervision by social workers.

Hind, of Pilgrims' Way, Durham, must also do 300 hours of unpaid work - the maximum allowed under the law - as a punishment.

When he pleaded guilty in December, the court heard how Hind left the Clyde Bar at closing time on June 9, 2022 with a fellow Royal Marine.

The pair then spoke with a woman outside, but there was a "discussion" about Hind refraining from "verbally abusing the female".

Hind punched the man to the right side of the face, causing his pal to fall to the ground and apparently to fall unconscious.

At first his victim denied being assaulted, and then Hind initially claimed to be the one who had been attacked.

The victim was left with a broken jaw and fracture to the right side of his nose, and a bleed on the brain.

There was surgery for the broken jaw, but doctors said the bleed didn't require medical intervention.

Hind had pleaded guilty to an amended charge, with the reference to endangering the victim's life removed.

His solicitor said at the November hearing that the deletion was because a doctor had said the victim's injuries were not life-threatening.

Hind has since left the Royal Marines.