An Edinburgh thug battered a man who stopped to help him after he fell off his bike.
Good Samaritan Steven Simpson had emerged from a nightclub in the Cowgate when he found Mitchell Taylor injured on the pavement.
Simpson initially went to help Taylor to his feet, but the 26-year-old turned and knocked him to the ground before punching him repeatedly despite suffering a nasty head injury.
He appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Friday and admitted a charge of assault.
Fiscal depute Morgan Beattie said Steven had been on a night-out and was walking down Robertson’s Close towards the Cowgate to find a taxi home at 3.30am.
Ms Beattie said: “He observed the accused who had just fallen off his bike and was lying on the ground.”
The prosecutor said Steven approached to “ask if he was OK and assist him” but Taylor said he was “fine”.
Ms Beattie said Steven began to walk away when Taylor shouted at him, “Do you want some?”, and “ran towards him in an aggressive manner”.
Taylor punched Steven on the left side of his face, the court heard, knocking him to the ground.
Ms Beattie said: “The accused then got on top of (Steven), pinning him to the ground, while continuing to punch him on the face and head.”
She told how the victim managed to push Taylor off using his feet and ran towards the Cowgate. He was later checked over by medical staff, she added, but didn’t require treatment.
Defence agent Ross Gardner said his client ended up in hospital for a few days as a result of his injuries and needed ten stitches.
Mr Gardner said both Taylor and Steven had been “out at different events” and the attack on June 23 2019 seemed to be a “misunderstanding that grew into something worse”.
The solicitor said Taylor had believed he was acting in self-defence and this may have been due to a “combination of alcohol and the head injury”.
He added Taylor, of the city’s Lochend area, had been a support worker but was currently unemployed.
Sheriff Adrian Fraser deferred sentence on Taylor until next month for reports.
