Hamilton Yobs caged for assault

Apr 30 2008 By our court reporter

TWO Hamilton yobs who assaulted a man were each caged for eight months this week.

Witnesses told how one of them, Hugh Caulfield, had kicked his victim “like a football”.

Caulfield, of Woodlea Drive, and Kevin O’Neil, of Silvertonhill Place, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court last month and admitted assaulting chef Richard Campbell to his injury.

Caulfield (37) had repeatedly kicked 23-year-old Mr Campbell on the body, and O’Neil (17) struck him on the head with a golf club in Chriss Avenue on March 25 last year.

Mr Campbell had been at a sportsman’s dinner and was walking home with his uncle when they heard a disturbance coming from Silvertonhill Place.

He saw his 18-year-old cousin involved in an altercation with a number of people and spoke to him to try to calm him down.

Two of those in the crowd were Caulfield and O’Neil who, along with a number of others, chased Mr Campbell, his cousin and some of their friends.

Mr Campbell ran a short distance to Chriss Avenue, where Caulfield and O’Neil caught up with him.

O’Neil hit Mr Campbell on the head with the golf club and he fell. Caulfield repeatedly kicked him as he lay on the ground.

The attack was witnessed by two women. The witnesses said Caulfield didn’t have a weapon but kicked Mr Campbell with such force that he was lifted up off the ground. According to fiscal depute Angela Gray, the women said Caulfield had kicked Mr Campbell “like a football”.

Mr Campbell was found to have a half-inch cut to the top of his head which required two stitches.

He also sustained a burst lip and bruising to his body and the bridge of his nose.

On Monday at Hamilton Sheriff Court, Sheriff Danny Scullion sentenced Caulfield to eight months’ imprisonment, and O’Neil to eight months’ detention in a Young Offenders’ Institution.