Man jailed after 'relentless and crazed' robbery at Hamilton train station

A man has been jailed after a “relentless and crazed” robbery at a South Lanarkshire train station.

Craig Richardson was loitering at Hamilton Central railway station just before 8pm on September 1 when he walked past his victim, who was talking on his phone.

The 41-year-old turned round and followed the man into the sheltered waiting area, where he grabbed the victim and smashed his head into a ticket machine.

The attacker demanded that the victim hand over his bag. Richardson then grabbed the victim’s wallet and began to punch him repeatedly in the back of the head before pulling a bottle of Buckfast out of his trouser pocket and hitting the victim with it.

He fled the station, though he was chased by the victim who confronted him on the street. Richardson again pulled out the bottle, threatening the victim to stay back.

The thief made off with £1,200.

An investigation was immediately launched, and detectives were able to identify Richardson thanks to CCTV footage which captured him and his movements.

Richardson was arrested on Tuesday, September 23, and was brought before the court the following day.

On Hogmanay, Richardson pleaded guilty to robbery and assault at Hamilton Sheriff Court. He was sentenced the same day to 20 months’ imprisonment.

BTP Detective Constable Finlay Bruce said: “Richardson acted with incredible aggression, and his relentless and crazed assault could have resulted in significantly more serious injuries for the victim.

“His attack was also clearly premeditated – he watched his victim walk past him and stalked him through the station before attacking him in front of another terrified member of the public. His shameless and brutal assault will stay with the victim for some time, and I hope the sentence brings his victim some sense of closure.

“We take every report of violence on the railway network extremely seriously, and I encourage anyone who is the victim of, or witness to, an incident to report it to us – our officers will conduct immediate enquiries to trace offenders, taking advantage of the wealth of CCTV footage we have access to.”