East Lothian thug torched motor in revenge for courtroom photo of pal

David Clelland, 39, torched the vehicle belonging to Dawn Reilly who had snapped his pal Rhys Reynolds while he stood in the dock during an attempted murder trial.

Reilly was then arrested after posting the photograph on her Facebook page and labelling Reynolds “a grass” in August last year.

And just days later Clelland claims Reynolds paid him £200 to set her car ablaze while it was parked outside her home in Prestonpans, East Lothian.

The vehicle belonging to the mum-of-six was completely destroyed and Clelland was later identified from nearby CCTV footage following the arson attack at around 1am.

Clelland appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in October to admit wilfully setting fire to the car and he was back in the dock for sentencing.

Lawyer Angela Craig said Clelland, from Cockenzie, East Lothian, had “struggled with substance abuse” for a number of years and had “recently apologised to the owner of the vehicle” for setting it ablaze.

Sheriff John Mundy spared Clelland from a jail sentence and instead placed him on a 12 month offenders supervision order and told him he must carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

Previously the court was told Reilly, 42, parked her car “undamaged and secured” outside her home in Prestonpans on August 14 last year.

Fiscal depute Anna Robertson said Reilly was then arrested and remanded for seven days for taking the image of Reynolds during her son Kane’s High Court trial and posting it on Facebook.

Ms Robertson said the fire service was subsequently informed the vehicle was on fire at around 1.15am on August 19.

Police searched local CCTV footage and Clelland was identified due to his distinctive trainers and he was arrested at his home two weeks later.

Ms Robertson said Clelland made no reply but when he was later arrested on another matter two days later he stated “I set fire to Dawn Reilly’s car” and that “Rhys Reynolds paid me £200 for it”.

The fiscal added: “He was extremely forthcoming about why he set fire to the vehicle.”

Clelland pleaded guilty to wilfully setting fire to a vehicle whereby the vehicle was completely destroyed at Grange Crescent West, Prestonpans, East Lothian, on August 19 last year.

Grandmother Reilly escaped a jail sentence for taking the High Court picture in August last year and was instead handed a 200-hour unpaid work order and placed on supervision for two years.

Kane Reilly, 18, and five other men were convicted of attempting to murder and assaulting Rhys Reynolds during the horror attack in Musselburgh on December 31, 2018.

The violent gang repeatedly punched, kicked and stamped on their victim before one of the attackers dropped a rock or a slab on Reynold’s head as he lay injured at the town’s Delta Drive.

Reynolds suffered 36 injuries including facial fractures and bleeding on the brain.

The six attackers were originally jailed for a total of 47 years in September last year but all had their jail terms reduced on appeal.

Kane Reilly is currently serving six years for his part in the Hogmanay attack.

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