Glasgow gangland trial hears pair have 'no idea' why they were attacked

Two more targets of an alleged gangland murder bid plot have claimed to have no idea why they were attacked.

31 year-old Thomas Bilsland suffered a fractured skull after he was set upon outside his mother's home in Glasgow's Cranhill in January 2017.

22 year-old Gary Petty recalled how masked attackers pounced on him as he got out his car in the city's Maryhill two months later.

The pair were giving evidence at the trial of six men allegedly part of the “Lyons” criminal gang said to targeted members of the “Daniel” crime clan.

But, Petty told jurors how he was not aware of any “long running dispute” between the groups.

37 year-old Brian Ferguson, 40 year-old Andrew Gallacher, 53 year-old Robert Pickett, 32 year-old Andrew Sinclair, 35 year-old John Hardie and 45 year-old Peter Bain deny charges at the High Court in Glasgow.

The allegations include a string of attempted murders over a 15 month period.

It is alleged they targeted Bilsland, Petty, Robert Daniel, Ryan Fitzsimmons and Steven Daniel.

The charge spans between June 2016 and September 2017 listing locations in Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and Manchester.

Bilsland first told today/yesterday how he was returning to his mum's home after visiting local shops.

He was heading to the front door when he was “hit with something from behind”.

Bilsland added: “I kind of fell...there were three or four guys with masks on. They were round about me. It was all a blur.

“The only thing I was paying attention to was getting to my feet and away. I was in shock, I panicked.”

Bilsland believed he was hit on the head with a “hatchet” weapon.

He also reckoned the attackers must have had a knife as he went on to discover he had been stabbed.

He managed to flee to a nearby kebab shop where he phoned an ambulance.

The court heard his injuries included a fractured skull

Prosecutor Paul Kearney asked had the attackers spoke at the time.

Bilsland: “There was nothing at all.”

Mr Kearney: “Do you know why you were being attacked?”

He replied: “Don't have a clue.”

Asked how he had been affected, Bilsland replied: “I just get on with my day to day. It has never changed.”

Petty was then set upon in March 2017 after he had been at a Italian restaurant.

Petty was getting out his Volkswagen Golf when he was struck.

He recalled: “I dropped the food and covered my head to try and protect myself.

“I was just getting hit. I think it was a machete. It all happened so fast.”

Petty - who described feeling “numb” - believed there were three assailants, who had their faces covered with “something black”.

He said he did not know where the individuals had come from before they pounced.

Mr Kearney: “You have no idea why you were attacked?”

Petty: “No.”

The scaffolder suffered wounds to his head and hands forcing him off work for three months.

Both men were also quizzed today/yesterday of their knowledge of the “Lyons” and “Daniel” clans.

Petty said he knew Steven Daniel - said to have been attacked on Glasgow's M8 motorway in May 2017.

He was asked was he aware that the Daniel family were involved in “serious criminality”.

Petty replied: “Not that I know of.”

Mr Kearney: “Are you aware of a long running dispute between the Daniel family and one called the Lyons?”

Petty: “You hear about it in the papers, but not that I am aware of.”

Bilsland meantime said he knew Steven Daniel to say “alright” to - and that they had previously gone to Rangers matches together.

He also claimed to “know of” some of the other alleged targets in the case.

The trial, before Lord Mulholland, continues.