A CANCER sufferer has avoided jail for a brutal attack on his cross-dressing pensioner pal.

Andrew Gibson, 64, had been facing a prison term for battering Charles Russell, 75, with a metal bar, a cooking pot and a broom handle.

Gibson left Russell covered in blood after attacking him at the victim's home in Paisley in January 2012 following a drinking session.

The pair, who met through the church and had been friends for over a decade, spent the majority of their time together but have not seen each other socially since.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard that Russell was left needing 25 stitches to seal a number of wounds to the top of his head and a gash above his left eyebrow.

Gibson, who has recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer and is due to start

treatment next month, denied assaulting Russell.

He admitted hitting him and injuring him but claimed he had acted in self-defence after being struck first.

Russell, who was 72 at the time of the attack, told the court Gibson battered him with whatever he could lay his hands on as he was annoyed, angry and wanted to hit someone.

Russell, who admitted he sometimes wears women's clothing and dresses when he's at home, explained: "I was hit with a metal bar, across the head, more than two times."

The jury convicted Gibson of assault last month and he returned to the dock yesterday to be sentenced.

Sheriff Seith Ireland placed him on a Community Payback Order for the offence, telling him he would be supervised by social workers for the next 18 months.