Driver caught on dashcam hitting couple with van is jailed

Walker drove at the couple near Clelland Avenue in Auchinairn

A man caught on his own dashcam deliberately driving his van at a couple in East Dunbartonshire has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years.

Barry Walker attempted to murder Samantha Webster and Gerald Brown by driving his van into them in Auchinairn on 16 July 2021.

Ms Webster suffered serious leg injuries, while Mr Brown escaped with minor injuries.

Walker pled guilty to a number of charges including attempted murder.

He also admitted charges of assault causing severe injury, permanent disfigurement, permanent impairment and danger of life.

His defence lawyer described Walker's actions as a "spontaneous act of utter madness and misplaced rage".

The High Court in Stirling heard Walker believed Ms Webster had previously assaulted his partner.

Judge Lord Summers told Walker: "You drove in a way that was calculated to cause injury to persons on the pavement and it was a miracle that Samantha Webster was not killed."

The court heard Ms Webster and Mr Brown were standing near Clelland Avenue in Auchinairn when they became aware of a van "revving" at them.

Prosecutor Alan Parfer, said the van, which was travelling at 25-30mph, had "targeted" the victims. They were unaware of it doing so until "a split second" before it hit.

Dashcam footage played in court showed the moment the van struck the couple. Walker, a former courier, then reversed the van and left the scene.

'I skelped her'

In the footage, Walker could also be heard in minute-long phone call to a friend confessing to what had had happened.

During the the call, Walker could be heard saying "I skelped her - he ran out the way and I skelped her" and "I need to go and (get) rid of the van."

He later abandoned the van in a lay-by next to a supermarket in nearby Robroyston.

Despite police attempts, Walker could not initially be traced but the incriminating dash cam footage was seized from the van.

It was almost a month later, when a police officer aware that Walker was a wanted man, spotted him by chance in his car outside his house in Bishopbriggs.

Ms Webster, of Kirkintilloch, was treated for "severe injuries" to her left leg. She has been left scarred for life and continues to have "limited movement" in her knee. Mr Brown needed treatment for a minor wound to his wrist.

Solicitor-advocate Marco Guarino, defending, said Walker "bitterly regrets the action he took. His efforts to better himself and set up a business now lie in tatters," he said.