A SHERIFF this week voiced concern about violence at Tesco’s Galashiels store.
Kevin Drummond made his remarks during a case in which an assault victim ended up unconscious.
“Young men seem to assemble at Tesco and this court has dealt with a number of episodes of violence there, and this has got to be stopped,” he said.
Seventeen-year-old Ryan Scott, of Hawthorn Road in Galashiels, admitted, along with another, assaulting a man to his injury at the Paton Street store on July 19, 2011.
Mat Patrick, defending, said his client believed the victim had been making derogatory comments about him and took umbrage at that. He added that Scott “very rarely consumes alcohol now”.
Sheriff Drummond described the assault as “a totally unprovoked attack on a member of the public who just happened to be at Tesco”, adding: “He then ends up unconscious after being set upon by two yobs under the influence of something.”
Scott was sentenced to a 12-month community payback order, with a condition he completes 60 hours of unpaid work. He was also banned from Tesco and its car park for six months.
The teenager had sentence deferred on a further complaint for six months after he pleaded guilty to breaching a bail condition not to enter Tesco on September 16 last year.
“He was subject of an assault himself and was bleeding, so went straight to the toilets in Tesco to clean up,” explained Mr Patrick.