Pars skipper Benedictus guilty of assault in pub

Kyle Benedictus knocked a man unconscious in an Edinburgh pub and left him with a serious neck injury

- by Alexander Lawrie

A footballer knocked a man unconscious and left him with a serious neck injury following a pub brawl in Edinburgh.

Dunfermline Athletic captain Kyle Benedictus launched the attack on Dean Wilkes when two groups of men clashed at Freddy's bar in the Capital earlier this year.

Benedictus, 34, was seen to repeatedly punch Mr Wilkes on the head before grabbing the man in a headlock.

The pair then fell to the ground where the victim was knocked unconscious after cracking his head off the bar, suffering a broken bone in his neck that later required surgery.

The burly centre half, from Plean, near Stirling, then left the pub but was later arrested and charged with the assault.