A thug who battered a chip shop worker over an alleged £40 debt has been sentenced to two and a quarter years imprisonment - but immediately released because the courts backlog due to the pandemic meant he had already been in jail for the equivalent, with remission, of two and a half years.
Allan Dearie, 40, first appeared in court on the charge on November 13th 2020, and due to coronavirus delays had been in custody ever since waiting for his case to be heard.
Falkirk Sheriff Court heard that the attack on victim Gordon Braidwood, also 40, occurred on October 17th, 2020.
