Victim’ s forearm was cut to the bone in machete attack

Athug used his Young Scot card to buy a 40cm-long machete which he used to inflict horrific injuries on a man.

Lee Mullen, 25, showed the ID hours before hacking at Scott Napier with the blade at a house in Glenrothes.

One blow to his forearm slashed through to the bone, while another caused an arterial bleed that could have killed him.

Mullen’s accomplice, Josh King, 18, had accused Mr Napier of breaking into his sister’s house.

Judge Lord Tyre heard that Mr Napier did nothing wrong and the attack was unprovoked.

The High Court in Edinburgh was told how Mullen and King used the machete to repeatedly strike Mr Napier on his body, leaving him with injuries which doctors said were life-threatening.

The story emerged after the two men, both from Glenrothes, pled guilty to assaulting Mr Napier to his severe injury, permanent disfigurement and to the danger of his life on July 26 2021.

Prosecutor William Frain-bell said Mullen bought the blade from a shop called Aladdins Cave, in Leslie, Fife, at about 1.30pm that day.

“The accused, Lee Mullen, was asked to produce a form of identification in order to purchase the machete,” he said.

“The accused then produced a Young Scot card, which contained his home address and his date of birth.

“After producing the identification, the accused gave some more personal details and these were recorded in the shop’s knife register.”

Mr Frain-bell said a friend of Mullen’s gave him a lift to pick up King and the pair went to Mr Napier’s house at about 4pm.

King accused him of breaking into his sister’s home and when Mr Napier denied it, he was then “repeatedly struck with force” by the machete.

The pair left the scene, leaving Mr Napier to shout for neighbours to help him.

When police arrived, they found him needing urgent medical treatment.

Mr Frain-bell said Mr Napier had an injury to his left forearm and police could see through to his bone.

He also had a wound just underneath his collarbone and was taken to hospital, where medics treated his injuries.

Mr Frain-bell said the doctors who treated Mr Napier believed the injuries posed a “danger to his life”.

He had an “arterial bleed” which had been

caused by being struck by the machete and he also suffered damage to muscles and nerves.

Police later traced the pair and King confessed his role in the assault.

Mr Frain-bell said: “The accused, King, was apprehended and he made

the following statements ‘It was me. I did it. I...hit Scottie with the machete. He robbed my sister’.”

Lord Tyre deferred sentencing for reports. He remanded Mullen at HMP Perth and ordered King to be detained at YOP Polmont.

The judge told the pair’s

lawyers: “It’s going to be a custodial sentence. But before I can impose sentence, I will call for reports and I will act in light of what is said in them.”

The case will next be called at the High Court in Edinburgh on June 14.

Police in Glenrothes after the attack on Scott Napier last July. Picture by Kim Cessford.