Attacker jailed for throttling woman until she passed out

A violent criminal who throttled a woman until she passed out in Aberdeen has been jailed for more than six years.

Albert Massie, 35, admitted assaulting the woman to the danger of her life in November last year.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Armstrong noted that Massie had 84 previous convictions, 22 of which involved assaults.

He was jailed for six years and four months.

The court heard the victim was punched and kicked at a flat in the city's Princes Street.

During the attack he also grabbed the woman by the hair and body, straddled her, compressed her neck and caused her to lose consciousness.

Massie committed the attack after earlier being granted bail at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

Defence counsel John Brannigan said Massie was a man with "certain difficulties".

The judge said Massie had been sentenced to periods of detention or imprisonment on 32 previous occasions.

A background report assessed him as posing a high likelihood of further offending.

Lord Armstrong said the attack on the woman had a "devastating" and continuing effect on the victim.

"The injuries you inflicted on her were consistent with attempted strangulation, which posed a danger to her life," he said.

He said that in the circumstances he was satisfied that there was no appropriate alternative to a custodial sentence.

The judge told Massie if he had been convicted of the offence after trial he would have jailed him for eight-and-a-half years.