Brothers jailed for Angus murder bid

Pair tried to kill Brechin father by mowing him down with their car

Two brothers who tried to kill a father of two by mowing him down with a car in August 2019 have been jailed.

Colin Sangster, 28, and Alexander Sangster, 26, ploughed their Renault Clio into 35-year-old Paul Ross after mounting the pavement in City Road, Brechin.

During a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh the victim, who had never even met the brothers, described how his left leg was “dangling like a bit of spaghetti” after the unprovoked attack.

As a result of his injuries, Mr Ross had to give up his job as a gamekeeper and is unable to take part in certain physical activities.

Yesterday, after the brothers were sentenced to a combined total of more than 18 years in prison, Mr Ross said he was determined not to let his attackers win.

“The two men were even winking at me in court,” he said.

“They won’t be winking now that they have been jailed.”

Afather who faces a lifetime of pain after what a judge described as “an appalling crime” said that he will not let his attackers beat him.

Paul Ross, 35, from Brechin was speaking after two brothers were jailed for mowing him down with a car in a murder bid.

Colin Sangster, 28, and Alexander Sangster, 26, pursued Mr Ross in his home town before mounting a pavement and hitting him in August 2019.

The father of two was thrown in the air in the City Road attack, leading to extensive leg injuries.

Mr Ross said he had to give up work as a gamekeeper after extensive surgery for fractures as the attempted murder left his left leg “dangling a bit like a bit of spaghetti” and bone was protruding from a kneecap.

He has now returned to light duties and had to move in with his parents.

Despite the trauma, he said he is determined to focus on positives in life.

“I have a lot to live for, particularly my two children,” he said.

“It’s thanks to them that I have got the motivation to fight back from this.

“Not only has my life been affected but theirs have too. I can’t even do simple things like pick them up from school.

“My physical injuries will affect me for the rest of my life. Doctors have said I will eventually need a knee replacement.”

At the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday Alexander Sangster was sentenced to 10 years and six months’ imprisonment and Colin Sangster was jailed for eight years and four months.

Mr Ross said he still does not know why they targeted him as they had never met prior to the hit and run.

“The two men were even winking at me in court. They won’t be winking now that they have been jailed,” he said.

Judge Lord Beckett called the crime “an extremely serious example of attempted murder.”

Colin Sangster, of Carberry Crescent, Dundee, and Alexander Sangster, a prisoner, denied attempting to murder Mr Ross on August 18 in 2019 but a jury unanimously convicted them of the offence earlier this year.

Lord Beckett told the brothers: “A man who was doing nothing wrong whatsoever when you and others encountered him by chance is now impaired in his work, which has had considerable financial impact on him and his family.

“He has lost the ability to continue with his sporting activities and is inhibited in what he can do with his children. All of this has had a severe psychological impact.”

Lord Beckett ordered that Alexander Sangster should be kept under supervision for a further three-year period, and told him his prison sentence would start at the end of a jail term he is currently serving for other offences which is due to end in September.

The court heard that evidence clearly pointed to the older brother being the driver of the Renault Clio, with his younger brother as a passenger.

Mr Ross had earlier attended a barbecue before he and others caught a taxi back to Brechin.

He said that when he got out an altercation had already started between the two men he was with and a group in the street, and he was struck in the face.

He told the court: “I didn’t know what was going on. I had just got out of the taxi.”

Further trouble ensued before he was hit by the car.

Mr Ross said he was definitely on the pavement when he was struck by the vehicle, which was travelling at about 30mph.

He sustained ankle, knee and thigh fractures and was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee.

Kenneth Cloggie, counsel for Colin Sangster, said his client had no record for violence. David Moggach, for Alexander Sangster, said the younger brother has no recollection of the offence.

Colin Sangster was banned from driving for nine years, and his brother was banned for 10 years and three months.

SENTENCED: Alexander and Colin Sangster were jailed for attempted murder after driving into a Brechin man while he was on a pavement.