A driver who left a cyclist with a fractured skull and bleed on the brain in a "violent and unprovoked attack" has been given a two-year supervision order.

Joseph Hedley, 39, assaulted Iain Brown, 34, following an altercation in Edinburgh's Cowgate in September 2024.

Hedley admitted assaulting the victim to his severe injury, permanent impairment and to the danger of his life during an earlier appearance at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

He was also tagged and given a home curfew requiring him to remain at his address between 19:00 and 07:00 for the next 12 months.

Footage of the incident showing Hedley, of Kirkcaldy, Fife, leaving his vehicle and throwing the man to the ground before leaving the stricken cyclist in the road was widely shared online.

An earlier hearing was told Brown was taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh after losing consciousness in the aftermath of the attack on 20 September 2024.

Hedley's lawyer, Calum Turner, insisted he had "not intended" to inflict serious injury on Brown and had not been behind the wheel since the incident.

He claimed the cyclist had shouted at Hedley's vehicle and shone his bike safety light into the car.

It was further claimed a passenger in the car had suffered a "seizure", provoking Hedley to leave the vehicle and confront Brown.

Fiscal depute Peter Finnon said there had been "words exchanged" between Brown and Hedley's partner, who was in the passenger seat.

He said Brown suffered serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, a fractured skull and an acute bleed on the brain, and that medics who treated him deemed his injuries to be "very much to the potential of danger to Mr Brown's life".

Sentencing, Sheriff Fergus Thomson told Hedley he had inflicted "significant injuries" to Brown.

But he said he was willing to impose an alternative to a custodial sentence "by the narrowest of margins".

Faith Currie, procurator fiscal for Edinburgh, Lothian and Borders, said: "This was a violent, sustained and unprovoked assault on an innocent member of the public who suffered serious injuries.

"The actions of Joseph Hedley were horrific and shocking and could easily have had more devastating consequences."