Teen tells of beach attack

A teenage girl told a court yesterday she was subjected to a vicious attack during a summer party on a north beach.

Kelsey Johnson said that Gary Gallacher pulled her hair and sat astride her after they struggled and fell on to the sand.

Ms Johnson said that at Dunnet Beach, in Caithness, he punched her repeatedly and shoved her face into the sand, some of which went into her mouth choking her.

She told a jury atWick SheriffCourt: “Gallacher then put his two hands round my throat. I was dizzy. My friend Lauren (Carruthers) was panicking because he was strangling me. I could hear her screaming. I think she kicked him.

“Gallacher let goofme and turned round and I was able to liftmyself up but then Gallacher punchedmeagain in the

“I could hear her screaming. I think she kicked him”

face and I was knocked out.” Gallacher, 21, whose address was given as Perth Prison, is charged with a 15-yearold Thurso youth who cannot be named for legal reasons. The indictment alleges that they assaultedMs Johnson to the danger of her life. Both deny the charges.

The court heard that Ms Johnson went to the party on June 7 with two friends and everyone was enjoying themselves. She said the mood changed when Gallacher and the 15year-old appeared with another group. Ms Johnson said this group was “confrontational”.

She said Gallacher began pulling her hair. The next she remembered after further assaults during which she was choking on the sand in her mouth, was waking upinatentonthe beach. “I wasn’t sure whether I had blacked out.”

The trial continues.

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