Man killed by next-door neighbour in Airdrie knife attack

Dave Newton was stabbed in the neck by his next-door neighbour

A man has been jailed for life after he killed his neighbour in a knife attack following a long-running dispute.

The High Court in Glasgow heard how Jorgo Pano, 44, had a long-standing disagreement with Dave Newton and his family over planning permission, driveways and car parking.

A fight broke out before Pano stabbed his neighbour in the neck. Mr Newton, 49, died in hospital three days later.

Pano will serve 16 years in prison before being considered for release.

The court heard how Pano had thrown paint over his fence onto the Newton's car late at night last March.

A fight then broke out in McAllister Avenue in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, where the families lived, on the afternoon of 7 March.

Jorgo Pano had been seen coming out of his house with a knife in a "blind rage"

Pano, a first offender, insisted that it had been an "accident" but a jury found him guilty of murder.

Pano moved to the street with his wife and family about eight years ago.

The trial heard how there had been "disputes" between him and the Newtons, who lived next door.

In the hours before the incident, Pano threw paint at the Newton's car, which damaged the vehicle.

Later on the Sunday afternoon, Pano was confronted by Mr Newton's son-in-law Lee Harris. The men started fighting and Pano hit Mr Harris with a spade. Gravel was also thrown.

'A blind rage'

After Mr and Mrs Newton came out into the street, Pano spat in Mrs Newton's face.

The row seemed to die down but Pano was then seen running out his front door with a knife "in a blind rage".

The incident was caught on CCTV which was shown to the jurors.

Mr Harris said Pano swung the knife at Mr Newton but after missing the first time stabbed him in the neck. Mr Newton died at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital three days later.

Pano, an air conditioning engineer, accepted he had fatally struck his neighbour but said he only got the knife as he feared for himself and his pregnant wife.

This was despite one witness stating that Mr Newton was "not a violent man".

Pano said he had fallen forward with the knife in his hand and hit him by accident.

He was also found guilty of assaulting Mr Harris and previously admitted spitting at Mrs Newton.

'A senseless attack'

Sentencing, Lord Beckett praised the "brave and selfless efforts" of other neighbours to try and protect Mr Newton.

The judge told Pano: "The bad relations with your neighbours over many years presents no justification. You contributed significantly to the difficulties between the two families.

"You selected the largest knife from your home and charged at him determinedly."

After Pano was led to the cells, the judge told the jurors: "It is a tragedy that reaches wide in this case. It is just a disaster for all concerned.

"But that was a situation brought by Mr Pano when he brought out a knife for what had been a pretty low-level incident."

Following the hearing, Det Insp Gordon Sneddon, from Police Scotland, said: "This was a senseless attack on a man in his own garden.

"David Newton was a family man and well-liked in the local community."