Man attacked and held neighbour hostage while flouting bail orders

A serial thug who flouted four separate bail orders when he held his neighbour hostage has been jailed for five and a half years. Alan Clark had pounced on his victim at a flat in Paisley, Renfrewshire on July 24 2021.

The terrifying attack saw the 48 year-old restraining the man, binding his ankles with a cable before escaping with his phone, watch and car.

Clark - who also did not have a licence - fled in the vehicle before smashing into a fence.

The 48 year-old was today sentenced via video link at the High Court in Glasgow.

He had been found guilty last month of abduction, assault and robbery as well as careless driving and other road traffic offences.

It emerged after the trial that he already had almost 50 previous convictions including for violence and drug crimes.

Judge William Gallacher today said he had considered the possibility of imposing an Order for Lifelong Restriction on Clark, but had decided against it.

He told Clark: "You have a dreadful criminal record and have been a persistent offender since first appearing in court in 1992.

"Your first conviction was for assault and robbery aged 16.

"You are now 48 and, in those 32 years, have committed scores of further offences showing the shocking disregard for anything and everything in the community around you."

The hearing was told the victim had been subjected to physical violence, detained against his will and restrained.

The judge: "The process of giving evidence was an uncomfortable one for your neighbour, but he was able to do notwithstanding the anxiety and distress caused."

Clark will also be monitored for four years on his eventual release.

The criminal had been the subject of four different bail orders from the sheriff courts in Paisley and Dumbarton between 2019 and 2021 - one imposed just weeks before the attack.

A condition he breached was that he did not leave his home after 7pm.

Jurors heard how the robbery also seen the thug pin his victim on a bed and rifle his pockets.

He also forced the man to give him the passcode for his phone and warned him not to contact police.

As well as the mobile, car and watch, he escaped with tobacco, keys, hat and a top.

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