Moray man speaks out as Belladrum attacker admits guilt

A man from Elgin who had his jaw shattered in an unprovoked and random attack has spoken out after his assailant appeared in court.

Adis Delic was at the Belladrum music festival when he was punched in the face by a total stranger who ran past.

Two years later and every time he shaves or brushes his teeth Adis still feels pain.

There are good days and bad days, but sometimes it’s so severe he thinks about going to the dentist and getting them all taken out.

Recalling the attack, the offshore worker says: “I was stood there talking on my mobile phone, with my other hand in my pocket, when I heard running footsteps approaching.

“I glimpsed something out of the corner of my eye, then felt the blow to the side of my face.

“I knew immediately that my jaw was broken. I quickly got onto my feet again to try see who’d struck me, but people were telling me to lie back down, and that medical help was coming.”

The force of the blow had pushed part of Adis’ jaw back into his throat. One of his teeth was now lodged in his airway, preventing him from swallowing.

Instead he was forced to keep spitting out the blood.

In order to reconstruct his jaw a team of surgeons fitted three metal plates with screws into his face.

Ten weeks later Adis then needed further surgery to remove them as they were causing infections.

At least a dozen appointments were required at the hospital and dentist, but his jaw still clicks and will probably never be as it once was.

His long road to recovery saw him on a liquid-only diet. Meanwhile, he didn’t return to work offshore for another nine months.

All in all, he reckons being the victim of a motiveless and random attack has cost him about £20,000 in outgoings and lost income.

Adis still remembers the exact date – July 29, 2022 – but he manages to remain philosophical about the .

“It could have been worse,” he reasons. “I was completely unprepared and it was a totally free shot, like taking a running swing at one of those punch bag machines you see at a fairground or an arcade.

“If he’d hit me four or five inches higher, on my temple rather than on my jaw, who knows what could have happened.”

Adis came to this country as a 10-year-old child, finding refuge here from the war which raged during the 1990s in his original homeland of Bosnia.

He says: “I’m quite an outgoing, free-flowing sort of person, but after what happened to me at Belladrum, it has now made me a more cautious individual.”

His attacker, Michael Anderson, lives in Muir of Ord, about ten miles west of Inverness.

Earlier this week, at Inverness Sheriff Court, the 26-year-old admitted a charge of committing an assault that caused “severe injury and permanent impairment”.

The court heard that Anderson had been intoxicated when he launched the attack.

Immediately beforehand an ex-girlfriend had rejected his overtures to get back with him.

Sentencing for the attack is due to take place on July 16.

Adis says he wants to keep any further thoughts to himself until after that date.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.