A 31-YEAR-OLD man who attacked his friend with a machete at a house in Selkirk has received a 200-day jail sentence at the town’s sheriff court.

But as Ian Monteith has been remanded in custody since the incident in April he will be due to be released after the sentence was back-dated.

He pleaded guilty to repeatedly striking a man on the body with a machete to his injury at a house on April 25.

Drew Long, prosecuting, explained the incident happened at his friend’s house where they had been drinking together and had taken valium the night before.

He said: “At around 1am there was a conversation which led to the accused becoming very annoyed with [the man], especially as he was on his phone a lot.

“The argument started and the accused struck him in the ribs and pinned him to the ground.

“They struggled on the ground and the accused punched him in the face.

“The fight broke up up for a short period.

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“The accused left the room and returned in possession of a black machete which had some sort of sheath on it. He struck him two or three times with the flat part of the knife.

“The friend took hold of the sheath to try and stop the assault, during the course of which he cut his fingers and wrist. He was able to throw Monteith out of the flat.”

Police attended later on and Monteith was apprehended and cautioned and charged and made no reply.

The man’s injuries included a cut lip, cut fingers and his wrist had to be glued shut.

Monteith’s lawyer said her client had been remanded since April 25 and was pleading guilty at the first opportunity.

She said the pair had been friends for a number of years and submitted a letter from the man which supported her client.

The lawyer said Monteith was also injured and had lost a tooth.

He had also used his time in Saughton to address his heroin addiction problem.

Sheriff Peter Paterson reduced the prison sentence from 300 days to 200 days due to the guilty plea.