A 45-YEAR-OLD man who punched a former “drinking buddy” in the face six or seven times was jailed for 96 days.

George Anderson, 45, claimed his 51-year-old victim had been sexually intimate with a girl aged just 14 and had gone to his home in Jedburgh to warn him off.

At the town’s Sheriff Court last week, defence lawyer Ross Dow admitted his client had taken the law into his own hands when he carried out the assault on March 12.

But he added that Anderson had no idea whether the claim against his former friend was true or not.

Procurator fiscal Graham Fraser said Anderson, of Bountrees, told his victim after the assault it was just a “tickle” and a “taste of what is to come”.

He explained the pair belonged to a “community of drinkers” and had been “drinking buddies” but had fallen out.

Sheriff Kevin Drummond said Anderson had 44 previous convictions stretching back to 1985 and had been in custody on 22 occasions. He added: “This was an unprovoked attack and I cannot deal with it other than custody.” The Sheriff discounted the four month jail sentence to 96 days due to the guilty plea.