Drunken 15-year-old who killed Scottish bus driver gets four years in prison

Passing sentence, Judge Lady Hood said statements from Mr Rollinson’s family described him as “a true gentleman with a heart of gold and a wonderful husband and father”.

She said the family was “shattered by their loss” and that due to the circumstances of his death they could not be with him when he died.

Lady Hood added: “Nothing said or done here today, and no sentence I can pass, will ever be enough to help Mr Rollinson’s family with their devastating loss.”

The teen, wearing a white shirt and black pants, did not respond as he was led out of the courtroom.

‘Attack not intended by suspect’

Earlier, Shelagh McCall KC, the youth lawyer, told the court that the attack on Mr Rollinson was “neither intended nor anticipated by the suspect”.

“The incident was caused by an action on the part of the deceased which appears to have been a trigger,” she said, referring to Mr Rollinson grabbing the boy’s phone and then stomping on it.

She told the court this reduced her client’s level of culpability, but acknowledged that “the harm caused was of the highest level”.

Ms McCall also said her client understood the seriousness of his actions and had shown “genuine remorse” for them.

Sue Webber, Scotland’s Tory shadow transport secretary, said: “The death of Keith Rollinson was a terrible tragedy and my thoughts are with his family today.

“Far too many bus drivers are being put at risk and feeling unsafe at work because the SNP is failing to tackle this behaviour.

“Their soft attitude means that judges’ hands are tied because of their sentencing guidelines for young people, which simply resulted in a lighter sentence being imposed because of the age of the offender.

“John Swinney must take a tough stance against those who believe it is acceptable to abuse our bus drivers and that must start by imposing restrictions and curfews on those who abuse the young people’s bus pass system.”