Drunk 15-year-old who killed Scottish bus driver jailed for four years

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

She said the family “have been devastated by their loss” and that due to the circumstances surrounding his death, they had not been able to be with him when he died.

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

The teenager, dressed in a white shirt and black trousers, showed no reaction as he was led from the courtroom.

‘Attack not intended by accused’

Earlier, Shelagh McCall KC, the youth’s solicitor, told the court that the attack on Rollinson “was not intentional nor was it foreseen by the accused”.

“The incident was precipitated by an action on the part of the deceased that appears to have been a trigger,” she said, referring to Rollinson’s grabbing of the youth’s phone and then stamping on it.

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

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

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

“Too many bus drivers are being put at risk and feel unsafe at work because of the SNP’s failure to crack down on this behaviour.

“Their soft-touch attitude means judges’ hands are tied because of their sentencing guidelines for younger people, which meant a lighter sentence was handed down simply because of the offender’s age.

“John Swinney needs to take a tough line on those who think it’s acceptable to abuse our bus drivers, and that should start by imposing restrictions and curfews on those who abuse the young people’s bus pass scheme.”