INVERNESS SHERIFF COURT: Woman (52) stabbed man during domestic fracas in Easter Ross

The woman admitted assaulting her attacker to severe injury but it was under provocation, the court heard.

Valerie Sutherland (52) of Mansfield Estate, Tain, assaulted Scott Cadger to his severe injury but under provocation in their then home at Brae Cottages, Portmahomack, on July 10, 2020, Inverness Sheriff Court heard.

Sentence was deferred until December 6 for a background report and defence solicitor advocate Shahid Latif reserved a full plea in mitigation until then.

However the lawyer told Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald: "It was the pulling of her hair which triggered this response."

He added that his client had suffered a significant injury which was inflicted by a previous partner but did not elaborate.

Fiscal depute Robert Weir told the court that the couple had been in a relationship for five years, with three of them involving domestic abuse by Cadger.

He said: "They had been drinking alcohol in a friend's house. Scott Cadger got drunk but Valerie Sutherland was relatively sober. He made a 999 call claiming his partner had assaulted him.

"The call was kept open and there was the sound of a disturbance and a struggle/fight."

Mr Weir said Sutherland could be heard claiming Scott Cadger had thrown ammonia on her face, there was the sound of smashing and then the line cleared.

"A neighbour heard tapping on his door, Valerie Sutherland was there crying and she said: 'You need to phone the police and ambulance. I have stabbed Scott'," Mr Weir went on.

When police and ambulance arrived, Cadger was found sitting on the kitchen floor with a wound to his left side which was bleeding heavily. He claimed he had fallen on a knife.

"Valerie Sutherland was arrested and found to have a number of bruises to her body," Mr Weir said.

"She said they were the result of domestic violence by Scott Cadger. She told police Scott Cadger had stopped her from leaving the house by pushing a sofa across the front door and that he had thrown kitchen cleaner or similar over her.

"She said she picked up a kitchen knife and struck him once. She said: 'I was not trying to murder him. I was just trying to get away from him'."

Cadger suffered a collapsed lung and a rib fracture as a result of the puncture wound.