River City star who punched and spat on woman in club brawl escapes punishment

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A River City star who rained punches on a woman and spat on her during a club brawl has escaped any punishment for the attack.

Television actor Brian Leys was admonished for the assault after a sheriff told him that she accepted his behaviour had been "out of character."

Leys - who played Ash in the BBC Scotland soap opera - was found guilty of attacking Shannon Devine during his mother's birthday party.

Sheriff Morag Fraser said: "I take the view that, whilst this was unpleasant, and elements of it were particularly unpleasant, it wasn't entirely one-sided by any means.

"Taking into account his previous good character, and that he took the opportunity to show it was out of character, I will take a somewhat unusual step. I'm prepared to admonish you in the circumstances."

Solicitor Larry Flynn, defending, said Leys had stayed out of trouble since being found guilty of the attack and said: "It was out of character. He has been of good behaviour."

The 41-year-old - who has not been employed by the TV drama since his arrest - was found guilty of carrying out the attack in Fairmuir Social Club in Dundee.

The city's sheriff court was told that the club was holding a May Day celebration in 2022 which ended with Leys battering Miss Devine in front of her family.

Leys, of Blackness Road, Dundee, was found guilty of assaulting Shannon Devine, spitting on her head, throwing a drink at her, causing it to strike her head and body, and lunging towards her before repeatedly punching her on the head.

Miss Devine, 28, told the court: "I heard Brian screaming at my sister. I went back to ask him to stop. He was leaning over the table screaming in her face.

"He seemed to think we were talking about him. When we were asking him to calm down, he spat in my face, threw a drink at me and flew over the table on top of me.

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"It was deliberate spitting. It landed on me. The drink went all over my face and my hair. He threw a drink at me so I threw a drink back.

"He flew on me over the table. He landed on me to the point I was on the floor, wedged between the seats and the table. He was over the top of me punching me.

"The table went flying out of the way. He continually hit me. I got hit more than once, but I would be lying if I tried to guess a number. It was two years ago.

"I was trying to kick my legs out to get him away from me. I just remember a man pulling him off. I was scared in the moment. It was disgusting and degrading."

The early years support assistant admitted spitting back at him as "a reaction" and hurling a drink, as well as calling him a "beast" after the assault. She said: "Nobody expects to go to a social club and have that happen."

Her sister Shauni Devine, 32, denied the fracas was sparked by members of her party 'mimicking' the TV star as he sat at an adjacent table.

She said: "He was drunk and argumentative. He said 'are you f****** speaking about me?' That's when it kicked off. There was a lot of 'do you know who I am?'"

Leys denied the charge and said he had been attending a night out for his mother's birthday and felt mocked as he helped his drunk aunt to her feet.

He said: "There was a group of girls and they were just being really nasty. I like to avoid any kind of confrontation. They were saying all sorts, mimicking what I was saying."

Leys told the court he heard someone call him "a black b******" and claimed: "I ended up on the floor after being pulled and grabbed by the group.

"It was just chaos in that moment. I could have handled it better and I regret what happened."

Sheriff Fraser found him guilty after saying she was more convinced by the Crown witnesses than the performance Leys gave in the witness box.

After his client was convicted, Mr Flynn told the court: "He is a full-time actor, but is not acting at present. His career has been on hold in relation to these matters. He has not appeared in court before."

Leys, who has appeared in musicals in London's West End, has not returned to River City since the incident came to light.

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