18 months for thug who attacked drunk

Apr 4 2008 By our court reporter

A THUG who viciously beat up a drunk in Hamilton town centre was this week jailed for 18 months.

Sky TV manager Kevin McCann carried out the attack in Cadzow Street in the early hours of Sunday, October 22, 2006, after his victim, Ian Reid, made an insulting remark about his weight.

Reid had not long left Hamilton Palace night club and had been described by the fiscal depute as being “extremely drunk.”

McCann had told police following the incident that he had been drinking since 4pm the previous day.

McCann, who was wearing heavy boots, had kicked Reid seven or eight times on the head and body.

Reid had called McCann a ‘fat b******’ and was left unconscious following the attack.

He was later taken to hospital where he received 10 stitches for a cut to his eye.

Reid also sustained a blood clot to the right side of his head as a result of the attack, and swelling and bruising to his head and upper torso which took two to three weeks to subside.

A numb sensation on his head took six weeks to disappear.

McCann (23), of Swisscot Walk, had admitted assaulting Reid by punching him on the head, and kicking him on the head and body to his severe injury and impairment.

McCann’s agent, Charles Ferguson, told Sheriff Joyce Powrie at Hamilton Sheriff Court on Tuesday that his client was employed full-time as a manager with Sky TV in Falkirk.

The solicitor-advocate also said McCann made a positive contribution to society by helping to train children at a local rugby club.

Mr Ferguson said McCann’s heavy drinking had been a factor in the assault, but his client was now abstaining from alcohol.

He pointed out that a report prepared for the court stated that McCann was considered a low re-offending risk, and had that he had demonstrated “considerable victim empathy.”

The lawyer stressed that McCann accepted that he over-reacted to Mr Reid’s insult and suggested community service as an alternative to a custodial sentence.

McCann, he said, was paid around £300 to £400 per week, and was also in a position to pay his victim compensation.

But Sheriff Powrie, pointing to the serious injuries sustained by Reid, told McCann there was no suitable alternative other than a custodial sentence.