Golf club thug gets 8 years

After the beating, brain-damaged victim Stuart Glen, 28, was dragged outside – to stop him bleeding on the carpet. James Power – on licence after serving part of a 30- month sentence for a serious assault with a bottle – then continued his attack on Mr Glen by stamping on his head.

Jailing Power, 28, at the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lord Bannatyne told him: “This was a sustained, brutal assault involving the repeated use of a weapon on a wholly defenceless victim. It has had what can properly be described as the most appalling result.”

Earlier, Power of Gorebridge, admitted attempted murder at a drinking den in the Midlothian village on May 5.

The attack left Mr Glen, also of Gorebridge, permanently scarred and facing difficulties for the rest of his life.

Advocate depute Jane Farquharson, prosecuting, said Mr Glen needed a life-saving operation to relieve the pressure of bleeding on his brain.

He also suffered fractures to both upper and lower jaw and part of his ear was torn off.

By the time the case came to court, Mr Glen was starting to walk and talk again but  doctors expected that when he left hospital he would still need support and help.

Ms Farquharson described how Power’s 15-year-old step-brother, Andrew Sweeney, and friends were at a bus stop in Burnside Road, Gorebridge, when Mr Glen came into the shelter and spat on Mr Sweeney before pulling out a bottle, smashing it and pointing the jagged glass at the teenager.

During the early hours of the next morning, Mr Glen was at a party at the drinking den in Braeside Road North when he phoned Power and threatened to shoot him. Mr Glen then fell asleep on the sofa.

Ms Farquharson said Power entered the room with a golf club and began hitting Mr Glen over the head. “One blow missed Mr Glen’s head and struck the wall, using enough force to remove a piece of plaster from the wall.” Power told others at the party he was “seeking revenge”.

Craig Kerr, who lived at the property, told Power to get Mr Glen out of the house because he was bleeding on his new carpet.

Soon afterwards, Mr Kerr heard shouting from the back of his flat and saw Mr Glen. “He was still lying out  cold on the concrete path and the accused was stamping on Mr Glen’s head,” said the  prosecutor.

Pleading for leniency, solicitor advocate Robbie Burnett, said Power felt threatened at the time and was afraid for himself and his family. Mr Glen had a record for violence and firearms offences, he said.Power now regretted what he had done and wished he had handled things differently, Mr Burnett added.

The court heard that since January 2008 Power had served nine short prison sentences for assaults, weapons offences and attempting to defeat the ends of justice. Lord Bannatyne added two months to Power’s eight-year sentence because he was also on bail and made an order that Power should be under supervision for four years after his jail term.