A HUSBAND who attacked his wife with a guitar during a row over snoring has been placed on an electronic tag.

Antony David Kean, 46, of West Kilbride’s Drummilling Road, appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week for sentencing, having previously pleaded guilty to the charge.

The court heard that at the time of the offence, Kean and his wife were in the process of separating, but were still living together in West Kilbride.

The pair had gone to bed on January 22 when Kean said to his wife: “If you snore tonight I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

He then kicked her onto the floor, then tried to straddle her. She managed to push him away and get back on her feet to leave, but Kean blocked the door. Again, he pushed her to the floor and straddled her.

Three witnesses who were in the house woke up and came to the room. They saw Kean on top of the woman, pinning her to the floor. They tried to pull him away, allowing her to get back onto her feet. Kean then picked up a guitar and struck the woman a number of times to the head with it. The witnesses again pulled him away and the woman fled downstairs and contacted police. Officers attended and noted that the woman was bleeding from a head wound and had swelling to her left cheek and eye area. They also noticed a broken guitar in the bedroom.

The woman was taken to Crosshouse Hospital and received three stitches to a 2cm laceration on her head.

Solicitor Quinton Muir questioned the Crown’s motion for a Non-Harassment Order due to his client’s mobility issues, adding that Kean is “not a man that’s normally out much”.

Mr Muir added: “There is no previous convictions. This is not a case where there has been previous violence expressed to his wife. They have had issues. This seems an incident which seems isolated in the context.”

Sheriff Michael Hanlon said: “This is a very serious assault, a nasty assault which resulted in an injury. With the weapon you used it could have been more serious. You haven’t been in trouble before, however this is a matter that would merit a custodial sentence. However, I’m going to step back from that.

“I’m going to impose a Restriction of Liberty Order. Standing that there’s no previous offending and the report indicates there’s not a considerable risk of reoffending, I’m not going to impose a Non-Harassment Order.”

Kean was ordered to remain in his home every day between 7pm-7am for a period of 10 weeks.