Power drill thug locked up after road rage attack on rival

A MAN who assaulted a 26-year-old with a power drill in a "deliberate and unprovoked" attack has been jailed for four years and six months.

Robert Kirkwood, 26, attacked James Hanlon with the tool in Stepps, North Lanarkshire, on 22 August last year.

The victim was forced out of the car he was a passenger in before Kirkwood hit him repeatedly on his head and body with the drill.

Kirkwood was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday after he admitted his guilt last month.

Judge Lady Dorrian imposed an extended sentence, meaning Kirkwood will be supervised for a further two years upon his release from jail.

Kirkwood pleaded guilty at the earlier hearing to a charge of assaulting Mr Hanlon to his severe injury and permanent disfigurement.

Pleas of not guilty by two other accused, Charles McCormack, 28, of Moodiesburn, North Lanarkshire, and Michael McCormick, 22, from Garthamlock, Glasgow, were accepted.

The court heard that the car Mr Hanlon was travelling in was forced off the road in a collision with another vehicle in the Cumbernauld Road and Lowland Court area of Stepps.

Mr Hanlon was then forced out of the car before Kirkwood punched and kicked him, and struck him repeatedly with the power drill.

Paramedics found Mr Hanlon with bleeding head injuries. He is permanently scarred but is not thought to have suffered any lasting physical problems.

Defence counsel Tony Graham told the court that Kirkwood was "concerned" by any suggestion that the attack was part of an "ongoing feud amongst those who are criminally minded".

It was, he said, "part of an ongoing disagreement and a dislike between two individuals" which came to a head on that occasion.

"He acted against a background of there being a dispute between himself and the complainer," Mr Graham told the court. "He's adamant this is not part of anything which may continue after he is ultimately released from custody."

Mr Graham said there was no suggestion that Mr Hanlon had been pursued to the scene and he said the drill just happened to be within reach at the time.

The lawyer said Kirkwood did not want to shift the blame for what happened on to anyone else but said other people had encouraged him to take part in the attack.

Passing sentence, Lady Dorrian said she would impose an extended sentence for the protection of the public.

Kirkwood, listed as a prisoner at Addiewell jail, would have been sentenced to six years behind bars if he had not pleaded guilty, she said.

Speaking last month, Mr Hanlon said he was "glad to be alive".

He said: "The events will remain with me for the rest of my life. It almost destroyed my family. We have been through hell but we have survived."