Brute caged after he beat up man in front of screaming teen

A violent thug who battered a man in front of a teenage girl leaving him scarred for life has been caged for the attack.

John Lochlan, 32, and his partner, Kelly Ferguson, 37, set upon Matthew Pease at a home in Barrhead in front of the child.

Ferguson, of Waverley Road, Paisley, admitted her guilt over the attack, pleading guilty to the two charges she faced.

She held her hands up to spitting on the man’s face, and repeatedly kicking him on the body, to his injury, and behaving in a threatening or abusive way by shouting, swearing, demanding money and threatening violence.

But callous Lochlan, of Houston Street, Renfrew, maintained his innocence - forcing the youngster to give evidence against him.

He went on trial at Paisley Sheriff Court charged with behaving in a threatening or abusive way by shouting, swearing, demanding money and threatening violence.

He also denied assaulting Mr Pease by raining punches on his head, hitting him on the head with a rock and raining kicks on his head and body, leaving him badly hurt and scarred for life.

The young witness, who can’t be identified because of her age, was forced to relive the moment he was battered in front of her on November 16 last year.

The schoolgirl said she was left petrified as Lochlan set upon Mr

Pease after Ferguson had rowed with him about money - then rifled through his home looking for cash.

She told the court: “She was in his bedroom looking for money . She was picking up his pillows. I was scared.

“She was scratching at his face. “He was on top of her, with his arms over her knees so she couldn’t get up and she was spitting in his face. I opened the door and tried to shut it again.

“John Lochlan just kinda, like, opened the door, kinda pushed it open. He ran to the kitchen and shouted, ‘Get off my missus’. “John punched him in the face. “They both punched each other in the face. They were both trying to punch each other.

“I saw John going in to his jacket pocket, it was just a quick glimpse.

“I could see something happening. He got a rock thrown in his face. I watched it fall to the floor.

“I saw him screaming and the rock falling to the floor. He fell against the wall and fell to the floor. “John stepped on his stomach. “I was screaming at John to tell him to stop. He stomped on his stomach. Then he stomped on his face.”

The court heard that Mr Pease was left with a scar to his lip and lost a tooth as a result of the attack.

But Lochlan claimed he had done nothing wrong and gave evidence in his own defence, rubbishing claims he and his partner had gone there to get money from their victim.

Lochlan told Procurator Fiscal

Depute David McDonald: “If I was going there for money I would have gone to the door.

“I was sleeping, Kelly woke me up from a sleep in my house. I did throw a punch at him, but only after he’d hit me twice. It knocked him out. I didn’t have a rock to throw at him. See if I was guilty of this, I’d have pled to this last year. I’ve not got time to be wasting in courts.”

A jury yesterday convicted him of assault to severe injury and permanent disfigurement after prosecutors had dropped the threatening or abusive behaviour charge.

Sheriff Tom McCartney caged Lochlan for 18 months for the attack and called for background reports to he prepared on Ferguson ahead of sentencing, who will learn her fate next month.