Gang Jailed for Brutal Attack on Off-Duty Police Officer in Blantyre

A gang of four individuals, aged between 14 and 20, has been sentenced for a brutal attack on off-duty police officer Stuart Rochford at Blantyre train station, resulting in a total of 20-and-a-half years in prison. The attack, described by the judge as resembling a 'dystopian genre horror film,' left Mr. Rochford with severe injuries that forced him to resign from frontline policing after 19 years of service. Lauren Neary and Robert Faulds, who pled guilty to attempted murder, received sentences of six and eight years respectively, while Alec Fallon received four years and a 16-year-old boy was sentenced to 30 months in detention. The gang had previously caused disruption on a train before targeting Mr. Rochford after he accidentally bumped into one of them with his car. The judge emphasized that the sentences were mitigated due to the offenders' ages, but warned of harsher consequences for future violent crimes. Some members of the gang were seen celebrating in the courtroom following the sentencing.