A ONE-PUNCH thug is awaiting sentence after his Irvine town centre assault led to a pensioner being placed into a coma.
Nathan Faulds pleaded guilty to one charge in relation to the matter when he appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week.
The 33-year-old admitted assaulting the individual "to his severe injury and to the danger of his life".
The incident took place shortly after 10pm on May 30 last year, prosecutor Craig Wainwright told the court.
Three witnesses were standing outside the Northern Way bar on High Street when they saw an elderly man, said to be aged 67, standing at the bus stop on the opposite side of the road.
A group of young people, including Faulds, then attended the area before an "altercation" ensued between them and the pensioner.
This spilled out onto the road before Faulds, of Scott Road in Irvine, approached the 67-year-old individually.
The pensioner stepped back before kicking out at Faulds who reacted by punching him once to the head.
The victim fell backwards to the ground and struck his head against the road, rendering him unconscious.
Faulds, along with the rest of the group, then vacated the scene and walked away along High Street.
Those who witnesses the incident then ran across the road to assist the victim who was "on the ground and bleeding from his head".
An ambulance was contacted, as well as police, and the 67-year-old was taken to Crosshouse Hospital.
Officers investigating the matter were later approached by a member of the public who informed them that Faulds was within their flat.
The Irvine man was traced in the flat "hiding under a blanket in the living room".
At the time, the 33-year-old said: “Is that guy alright? It was self-defence man.”
He was subsequently arrested before being formally cautioned and charged.
The court was told that, having been taken to hospital, the victim was found to have a laceration on the back of his head. X-rays and CT scans then showed a bleed to the brain.
Despite responding well to initial treatment, the pensioner "became critically unwell" in the day following the assault.
"He couldn’t support his own breathing and had to be induced," Mr Wainwright said.
"He spent four days in a coma before slowly making a recovery."
The man was within the hospital's Intensive Care Unit until June 4 before he was discharged on June 10.
Once released, he only recalled heading to the bus stop to go home after being within the Northern Way bar.
He remembered the group approaching but following this his next memory was waking up in hospital.
Defending, solicitor Mark Connolly asked that reports be prepared prior to sentence being passed on the matter.
The lawyer added that Faulds has "deep remorse" for his actions and was "truly shocked" to discover the victim's age and injuries he had caused.
Sheriff David Hall commented: “Clearly this is a very serious matter. You do have a record with analogous convictions but they are somewhat dated now.”
He then agreed to call for reports, deferring sentence to a later date. Faulds was granted bail meantime.
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