A MAN has pleaded guilty to slashing someone outside a hospital entrance in Dumbarton.

Ryan Sharp, 33, appeared from custody at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on December 12 where he admitted assaulting a man by striking him on the head with a sharp object to his severe injury.

The Crown accepted his not-guilty plea to having a sharp object in a public place.

Fiscal depute Rebecca Reid told the court that the victim refused to cooperate and give a statement to police, but the entire incident was caught on CCTV.

At about 2pm on March 15, 2022, the victim attended a clinic for a prescription at the Dumbarton Joint Hospital, Cardross Road.

CCTV saw the man enter the building and then standing outside when he was approached and greeted by Sharp, who gave the man a hug while his right hand was in his pocket.

"Without any warning or provocation, he struck him to the face with an unknown object," said the prosecutor.

A witness in the hospital overheard shouting and the victim went back into the hospital.

Sharp briefly tried to follow him in but then left the area.

He was later reportedly treated for a series of cuts between his ear down his face to above his lip.

The charge was amended to delete "permanent disfigurement".

Sheriff William Gallacher said if Sharp had pleaded to the original charge, he would have considered sending him to the High Court for a stiffer sentence.

He said: "You have a terrible record. You use knives and harm others."

Sharp, listed in court papers as a prisoner in Perth, will remain in custody until January 23, 2024, when social workers prepare reports for sentencing.