AN HGV driver has avoided a jail sentence after he carried out prolonged assaults on two women he was in a relationship with.

Colin Forbes, of Dingwall, repeatedly assaulted his ex-wife over a five-year period, including punching her and butting her to the head.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told that Forbes’ violent behaviour towards the woman on one occasion saw him seize her by the neck and pin her against a wall.

He then butted her and dragged her down a set of stairs at an address in Haddington between October 1, 2009, and January 1, 2015.

Court papers state that Forbes, 44, also pinned the woman to the ground using his knees and forcefully pressed his head against hers before poking her and kicking her to the body. Further incidents saw Forbes place the woman in a state of fear or apprehension for her safety when he kicked and slammed doors, prevented her from leaving the property and smashed objects including a TV set and a window.

The court also heard details of Forbes’ aggressive behaviour towards his subsequent partner, which were committed at a property at Fort George Barracks, Inverness.

On several occasions, Forbes struck the woman to the head, seized and pushed her on the body, causing her to fall to the ground.

He also assaulted the woman by biting her on the nose, shouting, swearing and uttering offensive remarks towards her.

Forbes also struck her, causing injury, and punched walls and glass panes within the couple’s home at the army base.

All the offences against the second woman took place between November 1, 2017, and May 26, 2020.

Forbes was in the dock for sentencing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last Thursday, where his lawyer Peter O’Neill said that his client had served in the British Army for several years.

Mr O’Neill said that Forbes was now working as an HGV driver and had been drinking to excess over the years he committed the offences.

Sheriff Kenneth Campbell KC said that the offences were “serious” and that Forbes had been “clearly abusive” towards the two women during the relationships.

The sheriff said that the “custody threshold has been met” but stopped short of jailing Forbes due to the “insight shown” and the “steps he had taken to address his behaviour”.

Sheriff Campbell sentenced Forbes to a direct alternative to a custodial sentence and placed him on a supervision order for the next three years.

He will also have to carry out 280 hours of unpaid work in the community and attend sessions with domestic abuse organisation, the Caledonian Men’s Programme.

Forbes was also handed a non-harassment order banning him from having any contact with either victim in any way for the next 10 years.

The court heard that the orders would be transferred to Inverness Sheriff Court as Forbes now lives in that jurisdiction.