Student punched lecturer in head after row on night out

A STUDENT who punched his lecturer on the head was yesterday ordered by a sheriff to pay £200 in compensation.

William Allan, 23, a music business student at James Watt College in Greenock, attacked lecturer Rodrick McKenna after an argument erupted on a class night out, Glasgow Sheriff Court was told.

Mr McKenna, 49, had told the student he could stay at his home after the night out, but changed his mind later in the evening.

The pair started arguing about it in Burger King in Union Street, before Allan punched Mr McKenna and a member of staff called the police.

Defence lawyer Nicholas Nimmo told the court that Allan was effectively stranded in Glasgow, and when he later saw Mr McKenna he lost his temper.

Sheriff Alfred Vannet ordered Allan to pay the compensation at 20 per month.

Mr McKenna was the man who discovered iconic band the Stone Roses. The lecturer spotted the band in 1988 while working as an A&R man. Their lead singer, Ian Brown, is now a patron of the college's Centre of Music and Performing Arts.