04-07-2025
Mum says young daughter's life has been ruined after terrifying carjacking
Masked man brandishing weapon ordered her and the child, then aged 10, to get out before the vehicle was driven away.
A mum says her young daughter's life has been ruined after a terrifying carjacking.
A masked man brandishing a weapon ordered her and the child, then aged 10, to get out before the vehicle was driven away.
Scott Semple, 34, formerly of Kenmore Road, Cumbernauld, admitted robbing the woman of her car in Main Street, Kilsyth, on December 7, 2023.
Ryan Hall, 29, of Imperial Drive, Airdrie, denied the charge but was found guilty after trial at Airdrie Sheriff Court.
The court heard that mum and daughter were waiting in the car at night while the woman's husband nipped into the Co-op.
An Audi containing three men with faces partially covered was seen driving slowly past. The occupants stared at the woman.
Minutes later a man pulled open a door of the family's vehicle and shouted repeatedly: "Get out the car!'"
He pointed what looked like a bat or a pole and the woman grabbed her daughter, shouting: "Please don't take my child."
They fled into the Co-op and the robbers made off. However, cops later found the stolen car at Semple's home.
In a hard-hitting victim impact statement read out in court, the woman said she and her daughter have suffered panic attacks since the carjacking.
She said: "My daughter won't sleep in her own bed. When the doorbell rings or there's a strange car in the street she says it's the bad men back to get her.
"She's terrified to go upstairs on her own and her school attendance has suffered.
"She's no longer a confident, carefree girl and as a parent that breaks your heart."
The woman said she had to take weeks off work and has been diagnosed with PTSD.
Even stopping at traffic lights is now "an ordeal" as she fears being targeted again.
She added: "At home we changed the locks on our doors and installed cameras.
"We have new automatic locks for the car and still I don't feel safe."
Asked what should happen to the accused, the mum replied: "Only a custodial sentence is fair given our trauma."
The court heard Semple is now living at a church outreach project in Greater Manchester.
Sentence on him and Hall was deferred until next month for background reports.
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