Man walks free over tower block knifing

William Gilfillan (51), of Grange Tower, Motherwell, admitted assaulting Frank Kilpatrick at Merryton Tower last May.

Hamilton Sheriff Court heard CCTV captured him stabbing Mr Kilpatrick on the arm. Although a doctor described it as a relatively minor injury, it has left a scar.

The men had been drinking and argued. Defence agent Kevin McCarron urged Sheriff Thomas Millar to accept a social worker’s recommendation that he be given a community sentence which would allow him to address his alcohol problem.

Gilfillan will be supervised for a year, must do 225 hours of unpaid work and will be tagged for three months to keep him in at night.