Killer who pushed man in front of ambulance has sentence reduced

A man who killed another man by pushing him in front of an ambulance which was responding to a 999 call has had his jail sentence reduced from six years to four.

Lewis Budge, 22, attacked Robert Bromell, 39, at the Corran Esplanade in Oban, Argyll and Bute, after they had left a pub on 6 September 2023.

Budge was jailed at the High Court in Glasgow earlier this year after admitting the culpable homicide of the victim.

But defence lawyers argued at a hearing on Tuesday that the sentence was excessive given the "lower level" of violence involved. Appeal judges have quashed the original sentence.

The men had each been out separately with others at the Markie Dans bar, before later chatting outside after leaving the pub.

The ambulance was travelling to an emergency in Dunollie, north of the town, with its blue lights on.

The high court heard that a parked caravan meant the two men could not see what was on the road as they walked along part of the esplanade.

The court was told Budge deliberately pushed Mr Bromell with "sufficient force" to cause him to lose his balance.

Mr Bromell tried to break his fall, but ended up being hit on the head by the ambulance. He later died in hospital.

During the hearing at the criminal appeal court in Edinburgh, defence counsel Brian McConnachie KC argued that the level of violence involved was at the very lower end of the scale.

A background report prepared on Budge assessed him as posing a minimum risk of reoffending and he had shown a high level of remorse.

Lady Wise, who heard the appeal with Lord Matthews, said they would allow the appeal and quash the original sentence, imposing a four-year sentence instead.