Samaritan’s jaw smashed by drunk yob

A THUG rewarded a Good Samaritan by breaking his jaw with a single punch.

Andrew Carruthers was so drunk that his friends thought he was going to hurt himself by falling over. But Livingston Sheriff Court heard that when Liam Blaikie went to his aid, Carruthers turned on him and punched him in the face.

The single blow shattered Mr Blaikie’s jaw in two places, leaving him unable to speak or eat because of the pain.

Surgeons repaired the fractures with a metal plate and pins and Mr Blaikie was forced to live on a diet of liquids and mushy food for six weeks.

Carruthers, 25, of Livingston, West Lothian, appeared for sentence yesterday after earlier pleading guilty to assault to severe injury. Sheriff Derek O’Carrroll ordered Carruthers to pay Mr Blaikie £750, gave him 190 hours of unpaid work and put him under a year’s supervision.