A MAN slapped a schoolboy across the face after asking him not to touch his gate.

Arthur Gallacher, 65, of Kirkintilloch, was sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to assaulting a teenage boy.

The court heard that the school pupil, who was 14 at the time, got the bus each day and got off at a bus stop outside of Gallacher’s property on Waterside Road.

At 4.40pm on October 31, 2023, the boy departed the bus - alongside another person - at the same time as Gallacher.

The youngster was aware of Gallacher as he had seen him on the bus and knew they got off at the same stop.

After leaving the bus the boy and the other person were waiting on a footpath near Gallacher’s gate.

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At this time Gallacher approached them and began shouting, asking the boy not to touch his gate.

Gallacher’s partner then came out of the property in an attempt to bring him inside.

However, Gallacher struck the boy on the right-hand side of his face. He was not injured.

The youngster contacted his father and the incident was later reported to police.

On November 2, 2023, police went to Gallacher’s home where he was cautioned and charged to which he replied “I did slap him on the face”.

Gallacher’s lawyer told the court his client did not know the boy and had not seen him since the incident.

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The defence solicitor said: “The complainer may have recognised him but he was not an individual known to Mr Gallacher.

“The long and short is he didn’t care for the behaviour and acted in this way. He tells me he has not seen him since.

“This was over in a matter of seconds. He should have dealt with this in an entirely different fashion.

"He is in a position to put something back into the community by way of unpaid work.”

Sheriff Simone Sweeney placed Gallacher on a community payback order with 150 hours of unpaid work.