Man in court after pulling chunk of hair from victim’s head

A man who grabbed a woman by the hair and pulled her to the ground during a weekend assault will have to wait until next month before the outcome of his case is decided.

Nigel Mercer, 55, of Sandness, left his victim with a bald patch the size of a 10p piece after pulling out “a fairly substantial handful of hair”.

He admitted closing his hand over the woman’s face and digging his fingers into her skin, all to her injury, during the incident in Sandness on Saturday.

Mercer only stopped the attack when the woman shouted for the police to be called.

In the end, he called the police himself. Interviewed by officers, he said it was him being attacked and he was trying to restrain the woman.

Procurator fiscal Duncan MacKenzie told the court: “That would seem to have been an attempt to justify his actions, somehow.”

Sheriff Graeme Napier deferred sentence until 1st December for Mercer to be of good behaviour.

Mercer, who must stay away from his Sandness home, was released on bail to an address in Bigton. A special condition denies him any direct contact with his victim.