A top Scottish cartoonist has admitted to assaulting his wife, the BBC reports.. 63-year-old Malky McCormick repeatedly punch his wife Ann in the head during an argument caused by her insomnia. However, the couple had undergone many recent tragedies, and McCormack told the judge he was seeking help.

Three years ago the couple’s 20-year-old son was left brain damaged after a brutal attack outside a Kilmarnock nightclub.

The court was told that McCormick reacted bitterly to the sentences given to his attackers.

Gordon Gibb, 19, was jailed for three years and nine months and his 38-year-old father, also Gordon, was given six months for the assault on Sean McCormick, who suffered a fractured skull and is still in hospital.

Sheriff Seith Ireland told McCormick: “Life deals everyone a hard hand from time to time and you have been dealt a particularly hard one, but on this occasion you snapped and took it out on your wife.

“Just make sure you behave yourself and any special help you need to deal with the tragic events of the last few years, you take it.”