A JOHNSTONE thug who attacked a man after they left a church service in prison has been spared a jail sentence.

Mark Quigley, 27, assaulted Ross Sherlock in Low Moss Prison on March 12 last year.

Mr Sherlock, 36, was being held on remand at the time after refusing to give evidence at the trial of two men who were accused of attempting to murder him.

Those men – William Burns, 56, and 48-year-old Alexander Porter – were later cleared of shooting Mr Sherlock outside a primary school, in front of horrified pupils, on September 24, 2015.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that Quigley and Mr Sherlock were involved in a “scuffle” in a corridor at the prison, in East Dunbartonshire, that was caught on CCTV.

Procurator fiscal depute John Bedford said that, between 10am and 10.15am on the day in question, inmates from various halls attended a church service at the prison.

It was stated there was an “unusually high number” of people at the service that day, with prison staff stationed at each end of the corridor as prisoners were being taken back to their halls.

Mr Bedford said: “A scuffle took place which involved Mr Sherlock being assaulted.”

Footage from a CCTV camera covering the corridor captured the incident and Quigley was detained.

He made no reply to police when he was charged in connection with the incident.

However, when he later appeared in the dock at Glasgow Sheriff Court, Quigley pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Sherlock at the prison by striking him on the body.

Defence lawyer Stephen Grady said Quigley has been trying to address mental health issues.

He added: “He fully accepts his responsibility.”

Sheriff Andrew Cubie handed Quigley a 15-month Community Payback Order, with the condition that he is supervised.

Passing sentence, Sheriff Cubie said: “Given where this took place, this is a serious matter. Given your record, I would have been entitled to consider custody.”