Man who killed amateur footballer with single punch has jail sentence cut

A man who was jailed for killing a “big friendly giant” of a footballer with a single punch has succeeded in having his seven-year sentence cut.

Leon Beagan, 29, was told on Tuesday that he would serve five years and ten months for culpable homicide after hitting Andrew Lees, 27, outside Renfrew Leisure Centre on November 5, 2023.

Lees, who was known to his friends as Panda, died in hospital after a fatal rupture of an artery in his neck caused bleeding around the brain.

Sentencing Beagan at the High Court in Glasgow earlier this year, judge Douglas Brown said the death was “a tragedy” which had left Lees’ grieving mother “completely shattered”.

However, lawyers acting for Beagan believed the sentence given to their client was excessive. This prompted them to lodge an appeal at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh.

On Tuesday, defence advocate Brian McConnachie KC said a seven-year term was usually given for crimes in which weapons or a more serious level of violence was used by offenders.

Mr McConnachie added: “In all the circumstances, the sentence imposed on the appellant was excessive.”

Following proceedings earlier this year, the victim was described as being a “big friendly giant with a heart of gold”. He played for Glynhill Moorcroft AFC, an amateur side based in Renfrew.

He had been at a game before going to Davidson’s Bar in Renfrew with a friend.

The court heard how the other man left around 11.30pm, but Lees stayed and ended up in the company of the killer’s half-sister, Skye Beagan.

She and Lees were later in Renfrew town centre before they met Beagan in the car park of the sports centre, where CCTV footage captured the men appearing to confront one another.

In his closing speech to jurors, prosecutor William Frain-Bell said: “It is not clear as to what the problem was between Skye Beagan, Andrew Lees and Leon Beagan.

“Things seemed to have kicked off when they came across each other.”

The court heard Beagan landed an unexpected blow on Lee’s head, causing him to ask: “What did you f****** do that for?”

Jurors heard how Lees soon collapsed on the ground, and Beagan walked off before others called for help.

Beagan was said to have shown a “callous disregard” for what he had done to the man.

Paramedics treated him at the scene before he was taken to hospital, but he never recovered.

Passing sentence in May 2026, Judge Brown said Lees was “plainly popular and much loved by many who knew him”.

He added: “The greatest impact will be on those close to him, in particular his mother Angela Lees.

”He was her only child. He was loving, kind and protective.

“When he was killed, her life was completely shattered. She will never recover from her devastating loss.”

On Tuesday, Beagan observed proceedings via video link from prison.

Lord Ericht, who delivered the appeal court’s decision, acknowledged the pain being experienced by Mr Lees’s mother.

He added: “There is no sentence that can compensate her for her loss.”