A car driver who tried to murder four men at a Perthshire garage forecourt after being told only card payments could be accepted for fuel, faces a lengthy jail sentence.
Charlie Tunstall repeatedly reversed a stolen VW Golf Gti at mechanics and struck one with the vehicle during the attack.
Ewan Burt, 35, was thrown backwards into the air and landed on concrete at Bob’s Mechanical Repairs, at Perth Road, Birnam.
He was left bleeding from head injuries.
One of his colleagues said his eyes were rolled back and his tongue hanging out and told the High Court in Edinburgh: “I thought he was seconds from death.”
Tunstall, 25, had denied attacking and attempting to murder Mr Burt, Robert McMahon, Owen McMahon and Robert MacDonald in the incident on January 14 2019 but was found guilty of the offence.
Prison warning
Judge Lord Mulholland told Tunstall, from London, the murder bid had caused Mr Hurt injury and had significant long term effects.
He told Tunstall, who shook his head in the dock after hearing the guilty verdict, it would inevitably result in a lengthy sentence of imprisonment.
Lord Mulholland told jurors: “He has a significant criminal record.
“I will take account of that.”
Tunstall’s previous convictions include car theft and he was jailed at a London court in 2019 for 81 months for conspiracy to rob.
The court heard the VW Golf was stolen in Enfield, London, in November 2018 and later recovered in the Waltham Forest area of the city in February 2019, with a dent on the boot lid.
The vehicle was bearing false registration plates when it was used in the attack at Birnam and was seen minutes later at a filling station in Perth, with different fake plates.
Near-fatal attack by serial criminal
Robert McMahon, 42, said the VW Golf had come into the premises and an enquiry was made about paying for fuel with cash.
Tunstall began swearing and bawling after he was told it was card payments only for the petrol pumps, which were a separate business.
Threats and abuse were hurled before the driver began reversing aggressively.
Jurors were shown footage of the car attack, which was captured on CCTV.
Mr McMahon said he had taken a photo of the vehicle with the intention of giving it to the police.
He said after Mr Burt was struck by the vehicle there was a lot of blood.
He said: “I thought he was seconds from death.”
The victim had head wounds stitched and sutured.
He has no memory of the events that led to him being injured.
Tunstall was identified as the perpetrator of the attack by several witnesses.
Sentence was deferred on him for the preparation of a background report.
He remains in custody and is due to be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on August 22.
Struggled to work
The Courier told how Mr Burt could only return to work at the end of July 2019 after suffering the life-threatening injuries.
Prior to the incident, the apprentice mechanic had been diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease, a neurological disorder which leads to muscle wasting and the loss of sensation in the arms and legs.
Ewan had struggled to find work due to his condition but his love of cars shone through and Robert decided to give him a chance at an apprenticeship
Mr McMahon began a fundraising campaign for the worker he said he thought of as “a son”.
