Assault driver has sentence cut

Armstrong's successful appeal means he is likely to be freed within weeks

A motorist who ran down a 22-year-old man who confronted him with a knife and baton has had his jail term almost halved by appeal court judges.

Stephen Armstrong, 47, was jailed for three years and eight months earlier this year for the offence near his home in Glasgow's south side in April 2007.

Judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh have now reduced his punishment to two years in prison.

The ruling should result in his release within weeks.

During Armstrong's trial, the court heard that the day before the incident he had challenged two youths he had caught painting gang slogans on a fence near his home in Southpark Village near Darnley.

One of the youths returned the next day with the 22-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and confronted the former publican.

While Armstrong was sitting in his car, the 22-year-old pulled out the weapons and smashed a window of the vehicle.

Father-of-eight Armstrong accelerated his car into his attacker, leaving him seriously injured.

Strong provocation

The victim suffered a broken leg and collar bone and punctured lung and spent over six weeks in hospital.

Armstrong was originally charged with attempted murder, but the Crown accepted his guilty plea to the reduced charge of assault.

At the Court of Criminal Appeal, Armstrong's counsel said that although a custodial sentence was appropriate, the sentence given was too high.

Lord Carloway said the judges had come to the view that insufficient weight had been given to the provocation faced by Armstrong which caused him to lose control.

He said that when various factors in the case were balanced they had come to the view that the sentence should be reduced.