Teenager arrested for brain-damaging attack on boy on train

Three teenagers who attacked a boy on a train and left him brain-damaged have each been sentenced to more than three years in prison for attempted murder.

The trio, aged 16, 15 and 13, admitted chasing the boy and repeatedly kicking, stamping and jumping on him after he tripped and fell.

Judge Lord Scott said the victim would be “forever changed” by the incident.

The eldest of the boy’s tormentors collapsed in the dock after the verdict was announced at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Lord Scott told them: “Despite your young age and the encouraging signs of rehabilitation, the seriousness of the crime is such that only a custodial sentence is appropriate.”

He sentenced the two younger teenagers to three years and nine months in prison each and imposed a prison sentence of three years and eleven months on the eldest teenager.

The judge said the sentences were significantly less than they would have been for older offenders.

Lord Scott told the teenagers that their victim’s life had changed dramatically and would never be the same again.

The trio pleaded guilty to attempted murder at the High Court in Glasgow earlier this year.

They attacked their victim shortly after he boarded the train at High Street Station. The attack was captured on video.

The trio left the train at Bellgrove station. In the footage, two of them can be seen embracing as they left.

Other passengers rushed to help before emergency personnel arrived. The teenager suffered a broken collarbone, bruising and swelling, and a severe brain injury.

The mother of the eldest attacker contacted police after her son confessed his involvement.

He admitted to police that he “stomped” on a boy’s head, but added that “lots” of boys were involved in the attack.

The judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the youth from approaching, contacting or communicating with the victim for an indefinite period of time.