Gary Rock was accused of shoving the schoolkid down a flight of stairs in the building.

He walked free from claims he assaulted the 12-year-old following a trial at Paisley Sheriff Court.

But he was convicted of headbutting the youngster’s mum after they rowed on November 17, 2011.

Rock went on trial over the assaults in August this year, where the youngster gave evidence.

Testifying from behind a screen, he told the court about what happened on the Thursday in question, after he had got home from school.

He said his mum couldn’t find her purse when she asked him to go to the shops.

He explained: “It wasn’t in her bag and it wasn’t in the house.

“We looked for about 20 minutes for it, we looked everywhere.” Sheriff Derek Livingston was told that the boy and his mum then left their home and headed for Rock’s old home in Corseford.

Rock had been in her house earlier in the day and had gone to the shops for her, so she believed he had taken her purse.

While on the way to Rock’s house they spotted him and a few pals walking along the street.

The boy explained: “My mum said to him, ‘where’s my money? Do you know where my purse is?’ “We followed them, they had lots of alcohol in a bag. Gary and my mum were shouting at each other.” The court heard that they were heading for Rock’s pal’s house and that, when they got there, he assaulted the boy’s mum.

The schoolkid, now aged 15, said: “Gary went up to my mum and stuck the head on her.

“He threw the nut on her, headbutted her.

“He hit her forehead and cut it with his teeth.

“I was kinda scared but I was trying to get in the middle of them because so he couldn’t hit my mum. I was pushed down the stairs by Gary.” The youngster said he fell down the handful of stairs that lead into the block of flats but said he could not be sure if it Rock had done it deliberately or accidentally.

And he disagreed with Peter Galletly, defending, that his mum had “lashed out and headbutted Gary” whilst “in a bit of a rage.” The boy’s mum also took the stand to testify against Rock.

The 38-year-old full-time mum said she had phoned Rock to ask him if he knew where her purse was and that he had hung up.

And she said that, when they met in the street, he denied taking her purse.

She continued: “He had said earlier he had no money and was totally skint yet he had a bag full of drink, cigarettes and stuff.

“I had decided it was my money that had paid for the drink so I would take the alcohol. There was a kinda struggle and that’s when Gary stuck the head on me.

“He hit me on the forehead – there was a cut and it was bleeding.

“My son started saying about him doing that to his mum – he pushed my son down the stairs.

“I went to grab my son and then he punched me on the side of the head and ran back through the close.” Rock, of Huntersfield Road, denied any wrongdoing and Sheriff Derek Livingston cleared him of the assault on the boy.

He found Rock guilty of assaulting the boy’s mum and sentence was deferred for reports.

When he returned to the dock this week Sheriff Livingston fined the 24-year-old £200 and ordered him to pay his victim £250 compensation.