Fife young offender filmed victim after head-stamping attack in Coupar Angus

A young thug who attacked a drunken stranger, stamped on his head and then filmed him lying on the ground soaked in blood, has been jailed.

Repeat offender Tyler Cheape from Fife launched the unprovoked attack on the man as he enjoyed a night out with friends in Perthshire last month.

The group had been travelling through Coupar Angus in a minibus when they were targeted by 25-year-old Cheape and another man.

When police traced Cheape later that night, he tried to play the victim and told officers he was the one who had been attacked.

Cheape, who has a record of violence and disorder, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted assaulting his victim to his injury in Princes Croft, Coupar Angus, on August 15 this year.

Punch to the face with closed fist

Fiscal depute Rebecca Davies said Cheape’s victim had been part of a group of friends who had pre-booked a minibus for a night out.

They set off at 6pm but stopped off in Coupar Angus to pick up more alcohol.

Ms Davies said the complainer, described as “intoxicated,” disembarked but friends tried to get him back on board.

“At this point, he dropped a bottle of alcohol and it smashed to the ground.”

Apparently alerted by the noise, Cheape and another man then appeared on the scene.

They ran across to the man, accusing him of hitting their friend.

He responded “no”.

The fiscal said: “Mr Cheape and his associate then began shouting but it was unclear what they were saying.”

The man wandered off down a lane, away from his group.

When he returned a short while later, Cheape began shouting at him again.

“A friend of the complainer tried to separate them,” said Ms Davies.

“The accused then punched the complainer to the face with a closed fist, causing him to fall backwards.

“While the complainer was lying on the ground, the accused stamped on his head.

“He took his phone out and recorded the complainer on the ground.”

Police and paramedics were called and found the victim still on the ground, with visible swelling to his face and covered in blood.

Cheape was traced later that evening. After being charged with serious assault, he told police: “He assaulted me.”

‘These actions can ruin lives’

Cheape further admitted separate charges of threatening behaviour towards staff at a Co-op and a Scotmid in Perth on May 28 and December 1 last year.

In 2024, he was jailed for 18 weeks for a “vicious and sustained” assault on staff at a Perth chip shop.

A sheriff told him at the time: “If you are going to commit big boy crimes, it’s time you got a big boy punishment.”

Solicitor David Holmes said his client’s “thinking had been affected by alcohol” that evening.

The court heard Cheape had a troubled upbringing and he had been diagnosed with ADHD and autism.

“He has a positive outlook on life but he has his difficulties as well,” Mr Holmes said.

Sheriff William Wood told Cheape: “You must know by now that you can’t go about punching strangers and stamping on their heads and expect to keep your liberty.

“You have been in prison before and you will be aware that this definitely crosses the custody threshold.”

He said: “Although this was described as a minor injury, I am sure it was anything but to the complainer.

“Who knows what impact this could have on his life in terms of his self-confidence in the street or his self-confidence at work.

“These actions can ruin someone’s life and as someone who hasn’t had their troubles to seek, I would have thought you would be wary about putting anyone else through any kind of trauma.”

Cheape, of Leven, was jailed for a total of 10 months.

He will be monitored by the local authority for five months after his release “to protect the public from serious harm.”

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