An Asda shelf-stacker has relived the moment she was hunted down and attacked with a wine bottle by a former Countdown champion after she posted a bad review of his book online.

Paige Rolland, 18, said she feared for her life when Richard Brittain smashed her as she lined-up boxes of cereal in the supermarket in Glenrothes.

He'd used the internet to find out everything about the 18-year-old - included where she lived and worked - after reacting unkindly to her unflattering analysis of his self-published title.

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Paige Rolland (pictured, left) was smashed on the back of the head as she stacked cereal shelves in the Asda supermarket she works in. Richard Brittain (pictured outside court on Monday, right) carried out the attack, hammering a full bottle into Miss Rolland's skull in revenge for a bad review she'd given his book online

The 28-year-old wordsmith - who was crowned winner of the teatime TV quiz show in 2006 - then travelled 500 miles from his home in Bedford, England, to the Fife town, tracking Miss Rolland down to her place of work and hammering the glass bottle into her skull.

The blow knocked her out and left her with a gash in her head for which she was treated in hospital.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday, Brittain pleaded guilty to assaulting Miss Rolland to her severe injury on October 3, 2014.

The 28-year-old wordsmith - who appeared on Countdown several times - travelled 500 miles from his home in Bedford, England, to the Fife town, tracking Miss Rolland down to her place of work

The 2006 champion (pictured with his trophy) used the internet to find out everything about the 18-year-old - included where she lived and worked - after reacting unkindly to her unflattering analysis of his self-published title

Speaking after the hearing, Miss Rolland told The Mirror: 'Had he hit me any harder, I could have died.

'My first thought when I realised I had been assaulted was for my mum and how awful it would be for her to get a phone call saying I had died.'

The court heard that the aspiring writer had uploaded part of a published book of his called The World Rose onto a website called Wattpad, where people can read and critique literature written by others.

The court heard that the aspiring writer had uploaded part of The World Rose onto a website called Wattpad, where people can read and critique literature written by others. Miss Rolland (left) read the excerpt and left comments about it. She was left with this head wound (right) in return

She was at work at Asda in Glenrothes (pictured) when the bottle struck her, knocking her out and leaving her with a sizeable wound to her head

This is the 500-mile trip Brittain took to attack Miss Rolland, travelling from Bedford near London all the way to Glenrothes, Fife

Miss Rolland read the excerpt and left comments about it.

Procurator fiscal depute Harry Findlay said: 'The complainer gave feedback of what she thought to be the merits or otherwise of the book.

'The feedback was negative. What followed were comments made by the accused which give an indication that he was displeased.'

Regarding the attack, Mr Findlay said: 'He went to the alcohol aisle and picked up a bottle of wine. He then went to the aisle where the complainer was working. He approached her from behind, she was kneeling down collecting cereal from the bottom shelf of the aisle.'

THE WORLD ROSE: WOMAN HE STALKED BECAME NOVEL'S PROTAGONIST 'Creepy' Brittain wrote in his blog that the woman he was stalking became the central character in his 'epic fairytale romance' novel, The World Rose. He says he came up with the plot and central characters for the book based around his feelings for the student he was actively and admittedly stalking. It was from this woman that devised the protagonist in his first work of fiction, The World Rose, Ella Tundra. The book's description on Amazon reads: 'When Ronwind Drake discovers treasures in a distant paradise, a new golden age seems set to begin, but Ella Tundra will find that all which glitters is not gold as she faces many obstacles in her quest for true love.' In a blog about the book's reception online, Brittain said: 'I was compared to Dickens, Shakespeare, Rowling, Raymond E Feist and Nora Roberts.' However, he also said he was 'dealing with idiots' too, citing several 'teenage critics' who'd flagged up issues with his literary technique. Advertisement

Recalling the attack, Miss Rolland said: 'At first, I thought that maybe I'd hit my head off the shelf and, as everything started to spin and go black, I wondered how I could be so stupid as to hit my head so hard.

'I heard the tinkle of a bottle on the floor and I thought that something had fallen on me. Blood was covering my hands and dripping down my arms.

'I couldn't believe it. The attack has left me nervous and fearful. I find it difficult to meet new people and am nervous in big crowds.'

After Brittain was traced by police his house was searched, revealing travel documents and evidence he had been in Glasgow on the earlier date.

The 28-year-old wordsmith travelled 500 miles from his home in Bedford, England, to the Fife town, tracking Miss Rolland down to her place of work and hammering the glass bottle into her skull

When appearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday, Brittain also admitted to a second charge of stalking a university classmate, Ella Durant, 23, who moved from London to Glasgow

Defence counsel Michael Meehan told the court that in relation to the message to Miss Rolland from Brittain – whose address was given as Palgrave, Bedford – his client pointed out she had not read the published version and asked her to remove her comments.

The court was told he also contacted her in September this year with an apologetic message.

Brittain also admitted to a second charge of stalking a university classmate, Ella Durant, 23, who moved from London to Glasgow.

He admitted engaging in conduct which caused Miss Durant fear or alarm by repeatedly following her, approaching her, and publishing a story about stalking her in September 2014, using her Twitter and Instagram accounts to find where she worked and turned up twice to speak to her.

Sheriff Martin Jones QC deferred sentence for reports. A motion for bail was refused.