A FORMER community councillor tormented by vandals at his home was killed after he confronted yobs who turned up at his door late at night.
William McLachlan bled to death in his front garden in Largs, Ayrshire, after being fatally struck with a Samurai sword.
He was attacked by Jamie Cameron, a 20-year-old with a history of violence and who was high on drink and drugs at the time.
Cameron is now behind bars after he admitted at the High Court in Glasgow to the culpable homicide of the 57-year-old.
Mr McLachlan lived alone and was known in the area as "Bungalow Bill".
He had previously been a member of Largs Community Council and formerly worked for IBM.
He suffered health problems, including a tumour in his kidney and an enlarged heart.
Prosecutor Ashley Edwards told how Mr McLachlan had recently been plagued with problems at his home, with windows being broken and property set alight.
But the advocate depute said there was nothing to suggest Cameron had been involved in those incidents.
On April 11, the night before the killing, Cameron spent the night with friends Jordan Skeoch and Ross Combe taking drink and drugs.
Around 6.30am next day, Combe asked his mother to pick him up.
When she later arrived in Holehouse Road - where Mr McLachlan stayed - she found her son, Cameron and Skeoch behind a garden wall before driving them to her house.
Later that morning word began to spread a body had been discovered in the town.
Prosecutor Miss Edwards said Cameron's "eyes were like saucers" when Combe's mother revealed the news to the trio. She also noted Cameron had changed into tracksuit bottoms that were far too big for him.
Cameron later went home and asked his mother what had happened to Mr McLachlan. When told he was dead,Cameron admitted being at the man's house, but said Mr McLachlan had attacked him.
Jordan Skeoch later went to the police and told how they had gone to Mr McLachlan's house "to see if they could see him".
One of them shouted on Mr McLachlan before the man was said to have yelled back, "You lot have wakened me up. Wait there."
Skeoch claimed Mr McLachlan came out with a Samurai sword and tried to "poke" it into Cameron's side.
Skeoch said Cameron then struck Mr McLachlan with a bottle before a struggle broke out.
He went on to tell officers: "He got the sword off him and then Jamie done whatever with the sword and then he put it somewhere."
Cameron was said to have thrown the weapon away in nearby school playing fields.
Asked by police had they gone there to "noise up" Mr McLachlan, Skeoch said: "No, we weren't being aggressive or anything.
"Just 'oh, let's go and look through this window'. We were just full of drink and drugs."
Cameron was later detained, but made no comment.
Mr McLachlan bled to death due to two "significant" wounds to his left leg, with his femoral artery being struck.
Cameron faced a murder allegation before the prosecutor accepted his plea to the reduced charge of culpable homicide.
It emerged he already had three previous convictions, all for violence, with one involving the use of a knife.
Skeoch, 20, had been accused of assaulting Mr McLachlan by kicking him on the head, but his not guilty plea was accepted.
Judge Lord Bracadale remanded Cameron in custody and deferred sentencing until October 15.
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