THE thug who attacked and killed Alva man Craig Logie is behind bars today after pleading guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Jamie Spendiff (26) admitted a charge of culpable homicide, along with a breach of the peace and assault.

His co-accused Shaun McCarthy (28) also pleaded guilty to a breach of the peace and two counts of assault.

Both men were remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month, following the completion of background reports.

Details of what had transpired in the early hours of August 7 last year were unveiled during a plea hearing this morning.

Spendiff and McCarthy, both from Tyneside in the north of England, had been working as wind turbine technicians in Stirling last summer.

They had left work on Friday, August 6, and after an evening of drinking they attacked a number of people, one of whom was Mr Logie (36) who had been on a night out with friends.

The High Court heard that day's violence culminated in a "melee" involving a number of men outside No.2 Baker Street on Friars Street shortly after midnight.

The prosecutor said the brawl had come about as a result of an argument "over territory at the bar" that taken place inside the pub.

CCTV footage of the incident shows Mr Logie had become involved in the fighting outside while standing up for one of the men involved in the row.

After being punched and later hitting back, he became unsteady on his feet and moved off to the side.

At that point he was not taking part in the disturbance. He is then seen with his hands in the air when Spendiff inflicted the blow which is thought to have led to his death.

The violent Spendiff, who has previous convictions for battery and assaulting a police officer, then "danced" around the supine and unconscious Mr Logie, before being dragged away.

In recalling the events that day, Crown prosecutor, advocate depute Andrew Brown QC, said both Spendiff and McCarthy had earlier been ejected from nearby Katie's Bar and Bistro after a physical altercation had taken place between McCarthy and another patron Ian Craig.

They then went to No.2 Baker Street, which Mr Logie later attended as part of a stag night.

The prosecutor then told the court about the dispute between two men in the pub that started the chain of events that led to Mr Logie's death.

Mr Brown said: "It appears as if a member of the stag party, Stuart McKee, and another drinker became involved in a heated argument over territory at the bar.

"This would appear to be what has caused the argument in the later incident outside which led to the fatal assault on Craig Logie, as the discussion between McKee and Lafferty continued after everyone left the pub as it was closing."


ASSAULT

All parties left the bar at 12.15am, though at that time there did not appear to be animus between them. In fact, Mr Logie was seen on CCTV speaking with McCarthy and even loaned him his phone to use.

However, Mr Brown described how "matters began to deteriorate on Friars Street" shortly after.

Mr McKee and Mr Lafferty began tussling in the street, which led to others nearby becoming involved.

Spendiff and McCarthy appeared, from the footage, to have been sticking up for Mr Lafferty, and in response Mr Logie and another male, Paul Stubberfield, "faced off" with the two accused.

McCarthy then punched Mr Stubberfield and then Mr Logie, causing the latter to fall over.

As the rest of the men began fighting in the street, Mr Logie got back to his feet and struck Spendiff "several times" to the side of his face.

McCarthy then ran over and tried to hit Mr Logie, who slipped and fell over again.

At this point, Spendiff attacked another man who had left the pub, a Raymond Devlin, by punching him and kicking him while he was on the ground.

Mr McKee, another man and Mr Stubberfield then left the scene and walked towards the taxi rank on Murray Place.

The prosecutor then told the court: "The deceased meantime had regained his feet but appeared to be unsteady, and did not attempt to engage with either accused again."

Both accused then approached Mr Logie who was "standing with his arms out to the side" and trying to regain his balance.

Mr Brown added: "McCarthy moved away whereupon the accused Spendiff punched the deceased, who again had his arms up and out to the side, once to the face with force, causing him to collapse to the ground. He swung another punch at the deceased as he fell, but missed.

"Witnesses speak to hearing the sound of a crack as the deceased's head hit the ground and he did not move thereafter.

"With the deceased now on the ground, the accused Spendiff initially moved away before returning and danced around the deceased, at all times being moved away by the accused McCarthy and at one stage by a female passer-by."

The advocated depute added: "Several witnesses attended to the deceased and an ambulance was called. Mr Logie never regained consciousness."


FURTHER VIOLENCE

Spendiff and McCarthy then left the scene and made their way towards the taxi rank on Murray Place.

There they spotted the three men, including Mr McKee and Mr Stubberfield, who had initially been involved in the fighting, and attacked them as they entered a taxi.

The prosecutor added: "Both accused approached the taxi and split, moving to either side of it. The accused McCarthy opened the passenger door beside Stuart McKee and assaulted him by punching him several times before he managed to close the door.

"The accused Spendiff opened the other door where Paul Stubberfield was sitting and repeatedly punched and kicked him before trying to put himself in the car in a further attempt to assault Stuart McKee."

The taxi then drove off, with Mr Stubberfield left bleeding from his nose.


NO RESPONSE

The ambulance service arrived on Friars Street at 12.25am and found Mr Logie lying in the recovery position.

Paramedics examined him and saw there was no voluntary movement and no response when he was tested for pain stimuli.

Mr Logie was taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital but arrived unconscious and with no motor response.

A CT scan discovered a "significant brain injury" and he was taken to Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.

Further examination found his condition was getting worse. Surgeons later realised that Mr Logie's injuries were not survivable.

He was then cared for until his death at 4.50pm.


ARREST

Police reviewed CCTV footage from Friars Street and Murray Place and later traced the two accused as they were driving home to England for the weekend.

They were pulled over at Coldstream, near the border, at around 2.45pm on Saturday, August 7.

Neither answered any questions during interview; however, when charged with assault, McCarthy said: "We're no bad guys. We didn't mean for this to happen."

Both then appeared at Stirling Sheriff Court on Monday, August 10, where they made no plea or declaration and were released on bail.

But by the beginning of May this year, Spendiff and McCarthy had both intimated their intentions to plead guilty.

They then appeared before Lady Stacey today with McCarthy admitting assaulting Mr Craig in Katie's Bar and Bistro on August 6; committing a breach of the peace outside No.2 Baker Street on August 7; and, while acting with Spendiff, assaulting Mr Stubberfield and Mr McKee inside a taxi at Murray Place on August 7.

Spendiff pleaded guilty to the same breach of the peace charge and taxi assault, as well as a charge of culpable homicide in that he did assault Craig Logie and did punch him on the head, causing him to the fall to the ground, whereby he did strike his head against the ground, and did kill him.

McCarthy's defence agent Ian Duguid QC conceded his client had been involved in "absolutely disgraceful behaviour in a public street".

Meanwhile, Spendiff's lawyer Mark Stewart QC said the killer had expressed remorse for his actions.

Lady Stacey told the court that she would need background reports before she was able to deal with either accused and repelled submissions for bail.

She said the offences committed by the two men were very serious and spoke of the actions of Spendiff that had "led to tragic consequences" and the loss of Mr Logie's life.

The two will appear from custody at the High Court in Glasgow next month for sentencing.