
Thug jailed after holding hotel worker hostage in Glasgow
The paranoid 26-year-old locked him and night auditor Miss Harkins in a staff room at the Hotel Indigo in Glasgow city centre amid his claims someone was trying to kill him.
Coll further accused Miss Harkins of wanting him dead as she desperately pleaded to be freed.
He then punched the woman, sending her sprawling, and she hit her head on a desk, which left her wounded.
Coll was sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to abducting and assaulting Miss Harkins to her severe injury, permanent disfigurement and permanent impairment.
He also admitted separate charges of assaults on three police officers as well as behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
READ MORE: Electrician caught with psychedelic Wonka chocolate bars
The incident was sparked after Coll dialled 999 to report that he was "going to be killed."
He then stormed into the hotel in an "extremely agitated state" and went behind the reception.
Coll wandered next into the staff room, where he was joined by Miss Harkins.
He again claimed someone was out to kill him and closed the door.
Fiscal Lauren Aitchison said: "The office was locked with Coll and Miss Harkins in the room.
"He asked Miss Harkins to phone his mother.
"Coll then asked her if she was trying to kill him but she showed him her badge to prove she worked at the hotel."
Coll then stopped one of Miss Harkins' colleagues getting in.
READ MORE: Woman faked pregnancy to extort man out of £6k
The victim pleaded she was "scared" and would "do him no harm."
Miss Aitchison added: "Coll then punched her to the right side of her face, causing her to fall back and she hit her head off the office desk, falling to the ground."
The petrified hotel worker then curled up in a ball as the attacker tried to get on top of her, but a fellow staff member burst in and got Coll in a headlock.
Police arrived with Miss Harken crying and wounded under her eye.
She needed stitches and has been left scarred for life. The area continues to be numb. Miss Harkins also had an injury to her shoulder.
Coll lashed out at officers spitting at one and trying to kick two others.
The court heard Coll had taken a cocktail of drink and drugs that night.
John Kilcoyne, defending, said: "He had onset of paranoia and he fully accepts his guilt."
Coll already had previous convictions for drugs offences and a domestic crime.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Glasgow Times
06-07-2025
- Glasgow Times
Balloch shopworker threatened with being slashed by woman
It was around 1.45pm when Elaine McKenzie was approached by a member of staff in the Co-op in Balloch over suspicious behaviour. She was asked to leave and told she was barred. As the worker walked the 51-year-old towards the exit, the woman made a slashing gesture and said: "You're getting slashed. I will remember your face. "You're getting done. Even if I see you out with your son." The woman then asked the shopworker to fight her outside. CCTV captured the full incident on January 29, 2024. READ MORE: Electrician caught with psychedelic Wonka chocolate bars McKenzie, of Merkins Avenue, Dumbarton, pleaded guilty to shouting, swearing, threatening the shopworker with violence, making threatening gestures and challenging her to fight. Defence solicitor Kenny McGowan said: "Clearly the court is not going to tolerate this sort of thing. "It's somewhat different from other matters that have brought Ms McKenzie before the court." His client had finished three previous community payback orders, he said. There was just outstanding compensation owed in one of them. Sheriff John McElroy KC turned to McKenzie and said: "You're 51. 51. And you're behaving like this in a shop? It's not good enough is it?" The sheriff said her defence solicitor "knows all about you" so had persuaded him to to try help. "If you can sort your problems out with supervision, my hope is I don't see you again," Sheriff McElroy told her. "Because it would be pretty sad if I saw you again when you're 52, 53." She will be under social work supervision for two years and must attend drug treatment as directed.


Glasgow Times
05-07-2025
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow man jailed after racist rants at flat block
Robert Bryson, 58, of Govan, was sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court recently after pleading guilty to multiple charges. He admitted to two charges of acting in a manner that was racially aggravated, which caused or was intended to cause other people alarm or distress, breaching bail conditions, and two charges of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner. The court heard that at 9pm on November 21, 2023, Kanwal Chaudhry and Sehr Chaudhry were within a property on Elder Street when they heard a sudden and continuous banging on the living room wall coming from the next flat where Bryson lived. They banged on the wall in the hopes of Bryson stopping; however, the loud banging continued, and the pair heard Bryson shouting and swearing. He stated: 'ya p***k, f**k off, you bloody b***h, you black b*****d.' The pair deemed the comments as racially prejudiced based on their Pakistani descent and believed the verbal abuse to be directed at them. They contacted 101 and at 9.45pm police attended and arrested Bryson, to which he replied, 'I did say black b*****d, I was shouting at my son'. READ NEXT: Electrician caught with psychedelic Wonka bars in Clydebank In a separate incident at 1.05am on December 24, 2024, Sarmad Ikram was asleep when he was woken by a loud banging noise coming from next door, where Bryson lived. Bryson was heard shouting 'illegal immigrants, black b******s, your gran and grampa are illegal immigrants, get them the f**k out of my country, this is Scotland not Pakistan, f**k off, get yourselves to f**k. 'It's Scotland, we will beat you black b******s.' Police attended that evening to take statements. Then, at 00.18am on December 25, 2024, officers had cause to force entry to Bryson's property. He was cautioned and charged. In a further incident on January 7, 2025, Mr Chaudhry and Mr Ikram were within a property on Elder Street when they could hear Bryson shouting from his flat. He stated: 'black b******s, p****s, monkeys'. Police were contacted, and at 00.50am on January 8, officers attended. They overheard Bryson shout 'ya black b******s' from within his home. READ NEXT: Clydebank woman faked pregnancy to extort man out of £6k At 1.30am the same day, Bryson was cautioned and informed he was under arrest. He was later charged. In a fourth incident at 11pm on January 13, 2025, Mr Ikram was outside a flat block on Elder Street in Govan. He saw Bryson enter the street and as he approached Mr Ikram he shouted 'b******s, a*******s, d**khead, f**k'. Mr Ikram believed these comments were aimed at him as there was no one else in the street at the time. Bryson went inside, and police were contacted. At 00.05am on January 15, Bryson was traced at his home where he was arrested and cautioned. Bryson's lawyer told the court that her client's offending 'could be attributed to alcohol consumption'. READ NEXT: Diocese launch appeal after 'vandalism' at Barrhead cemetery The defence solicitor said: 'These are very serious offences. He doesn't appear to remember all of them. 'His offending is attributed to alcohol consumption. That being said, he has expressed a willingness to attend alcohol anonymous meetings, but he has yet to do so. 'In the view of the social worker, he was attending appointments consistently, but his attitude remains the same to alcohol misuse. 'The report states there is no evidence that his needs cannot be met by a community payback order with supervision.' Addressing Bryson, Sheriff Joanna McDonald commented: 'The difficulty I have in dealing with you is you will not address your alcohol issue. 'You still have these entrenched views. You keep saying you're not racist, but you have been racist. You subjected them to abuse by you since 2023. 'On the first matter, I dealt with you and at that time I was told it was a one off but there have been three further offences against the same people.' Bryson was jailed for 411 days.


Glasgow Times
05-07-2025
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow woman made threat to child in 'neighbourhood dispute'
Helen McPherson, 42, of Govan, was sentenced at Glasgow Sheriff Court recently after pleading guilty to four charges. She admitted to three charges of behaving in a threatening and abusive manner and to assaulting a man. The court heard that during April 2023, a woman - who we cannot name for legal reasons - had returned to her home on Southcroft Street after walking her dogs. As she got to the common close she saw McPherson leaving with her dog. The two crossed paths without issue. Once the woman was inside the building, McPherson turned and asked her to control her dogs. However, the dogs were on leads, and there was no issue, so she chose to ignore this comment and continue on. McPherson began to issue threats of violence to the woman and her dogs and shouted at her whilst walking towards her with her fist raised. Fearing a perceived attack, the woman turned to face McPherson and walked backwards in an attempt to avoid any harm. McPherson then made her way to the front door before sticking her middle finger up to her and walking away. READ NEXT: Electrician caught with psychedelic Wonka bars in Clydebank In a separate incident on January 7, 2024, a woman and a man were outside their home at 4.40pm when they saw McPherson leave a common close on Southcroft Street. McPherson mumbled towards them, 'f*****g Polish'. The man put himself between McPherson and his wife, and McPherson began to attack him, striking him on the back multiple times. The couple ran inside and contacted the police. Officers attended and described the pair as visibly distressed. McPherson was arrested. In a third incident on August 17, 2024, a woman and a child left their property at 9pm to walk their dogs. They turned onto Vicarfield Street when they saw McPherson approaching them. McPherson chose to walk between the pair before turning to the child and stating, 'I'll kick you and your dog in the face. "F**k off, I'll get my niece to come and beat you up.' READ NEXT: Clydebank woman faked pregnancy to extort man out of £6k The woman and child felt fearful and alarmed by what McPherson had said, and they contacted police. McPherson was later arrested on September 4, 2024. McPherson's lawyer told Sheriff Joanna McDonald that his client's position was that there was a background with an 'ongoing neighbourhood dispute'. The defence solicitor said: 'Clearly her conduct will no doubt cause you some concern. It's clear she knows fine well that conduct is and was unacceptable on those dates and would have no doubt caused the complainers a great deal of upset. 'You may also be concerned by the report that she can be seen to attempt to pass blame onto the complainers. 'It's her position that there was a background going on. An ongoing neighbourhood dispute. She was merely attempting to provide that it wasn't always just her. 'She does regret her behaviour and has made attempts to contact the housing association in the hopes of moving. 'They don't share a common close. They don't share the same building. There is no issue with non-harassment orders being imposed for both complainers. 'Given what can be described as a lack of victim empathy, she may benefit from supervision to negate any further similar offending.' Sheriff McDonald fined McPherson £420 and tagged her for five months, keeping her indoors between 7pm and 7am.