Soldier's death left mother 'a prisoner in her home'

THE mother of a soldier who died in her arms after being stabbed has told how she is a prisoner in her own home a year after his death.

Scots Guardsman Paul McGee was brutally murdered 12 months ago by Barry McGrory.

The 28-year-old soldier, who served in Iraq, was attempting to intervene in a fight between a man and a taxi driver when he was stabbed three times - including once in the heart - just yards from his home in Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire.

He was rushed to hospital by medics, however he died shortly after arrival.

The soldier, who had won the Queen's Commendation for Bravery in Iraq, was on leave when he was killed. His heartbroken mother Anne McGee, 55, has spoken of her living nightmare over the past year, saying she has barely been able to go outside since her son's death.

She said: "How do you get over the loss of one of your children? I don't think you can. Of course, you have to try to get on with things, but that's easier said than done.

"I think about Paul every single day, but nothing will ever bring him back. I've had counselling, but I don't think it has done any good. I get out sometimes, but it's usually just to visit the doctor."

Mrs McGee said she did not know whether or not she'd be able to get out on her own again.

"I was told that Paul had been stabbed - then he died in my arms," she said. "I just told my son to get up. I said to him 'It's Mum. Please son, get up.' It was awful. It's difficult to contemplate the rest of my life without Paul.

"He was just 28 when he was killed. He had so much to look forward to, but that was cruelly snatched away from him."

Mr McGee was on his way home from a charity night at the Lynnhurst Hotel in Johnstone with his mother, his girlfriend Helen Laycock and her mother, Ann Laycock on 25 October, 2009, when tragedy struck.

Taxi driver John Banach, who was giving them a lift home, spotted McGrory driving slowly with his fog lights on.

Mr Banach flashed his lights at McGrory before overtaking him, but this enraged the latter and his passenger Ian Wallace, who chased after the cab.

Minutes later, as the taxi pulled up in McConnell Road, Lochwinnoch, Wallace rushed over and began punching Mr Banach through the open window of the vehicle.

Mr McGee stepped in to help Mr Banach, but Wallace turned on him. The two men got into a scuffle and McGrory arrived on the scene and stabbed Mr McGee three times. In April, a jury at the High Court in Glasgow took just over three hours to convict McGrory, 28, of Erskine. He is now serving a minimum jail term of 20 years.

Wallace, of Johnstone, was initially charged with murdering Mr McGee, but the Crown dropped the case against him and instead charged him with assault.He pled guilty and was jailed for 15 months.

Mr McGee's sister Kelly, 26, added: "Mum used to love getting about the village, going to the shops and meeting people. That simply doesn't happen now.

"I'm a bit better now, but mum is still really struggling. I hate to see her like this."