A MAN who killed a Borders pub customer with a single punch after he insulted his girlfriend has been jailed for two and a half years.

Raymond Shand, who is 41, struck 59-year-old David Suttle at the Horn Inn pub, Duns, on September 22, 2019.

The High Court in Edinburgh previously heard that barmaid Heather Brown told Mr Suttle to leave the pub before he insulted her.

Shand then punched Mr Suttle resulting in a fatal head injury. He admitted a charge of culpable homicide.

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The court heard that Shand, formerly of Huntly but now of Peebles, had no previous convictions.

On the night of the attack, he had travelled to Duns from his then home in Aberdeenshire to spend time with his partner.

Prosecutor Mark Mohammed told Lord Richardson that Mr Suttle – a regular at the pub – had insulted Ms Brown on a number of occasions.

He said she was of the view that he was "nasty drunk" who would often make "cutting remarks" about her.

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The court heard that on the night he died, Mr Suttle had been drinking in the pub and was told to leave.

He then insulted Ms Brown which prompted Shand to strike him, causing him to fall over and bang his head on the ground.

Shand was also convicted of assaulting another man by punching and kicking him in June 2019 in Duns.

Passing sentence at the High Court in Stirling after considering background reports, Lord Richardson said he would have given Shand four years jail but reduced it to two years and six months due to the guilty plea.

In addition Shand, who gave an address in Peebles, received 30 days in prison – to run concurrently – for the assault offence.