Man threw non-swimmer off a bridge and into the cold water of the Clyde

Squiggly bridge: George Thomson was dropped into the Clyde.STV

A man who threw a non-swimmer off a bridge and into the Clyde has been jailed for six years.

Gregg McKissock dropped George Thomson off Glasgow's Squiggly Bridge and into the water in January this year.

Mr Thomson suffered severe hypothermia after being pulled from the river.

McKissock appeared at the High Court in Glasgow on Friday after being convicted of attempted murder last month.

It emerged the 30 year-old dad, of the city's Knightswood, had numerous previous convictions for assault.

Judge Sean Murphy QC told McKissock: "This incident can only be considered to be a very dangerous matter.

"Mr Thomson could not swim and he was a vulnerable young man. The temperature and conditions were such that he could have died because of hypothermia. This was so reckless that a considerable custodial sentence is inevitable."

McKissock and Mr Thomson had been each other's company that evening and a jury heard there had been "no animosity" between them leading up to the incident.

Mr Thomson recalled being grabbed and "tossed into the Clyde". The 24-year-old battled to stay afloat before being rescued from the freezing water and taken to hospital.

A casualty doctor told the court it took a number of hours to raise the victim's body temperature and his life had been in danger.

McKissock's lawyer told the court on Friday the actions had been "out of character" for the former mechanic.

Geoff Forbes, defending, added: "He continues to deny the offence, but he hopes the victim suffered no adverse effect as a result of this incident."

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