Amazon driver who stabbed Edinburgh traffic warden during argument over ticket jailed

Eamonn Gallagher, 39, lashed out at parking attendant John Watters with a blade that was attached to his keys in a dispute over the ticket.

Gallagher was returning to his parked his car after delivering a parcel when he spotted the warden placing a penalty on his windscreen in Edinburgh’s Gorgie Road.

He confronted Mr Watters and an argument erupted between the pair during the incident at around 4.25pm on April 15 last year.

Morris McLean appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court | TSPL

Gallagher, of Blackburn, West Lothian, claimed the employee made a disparaging remark about his mother and punched the man to the body while holding his keys in his hand.

The unprovoked attack near to a McDonald’s restaurant left the 50-year-old traffic warden suffering from a severe stab wound to the torso. Gallagher said he panicked when he spotted a police car approaching and fled the scene.

Mr Watters was rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for treatment to his injuries and officers immediately cordoned off the scene for several hours after the attack.

Gallagher, from Blackburn, West Lothian, pleaded guilty to assaulting John Watters to his severe injury and danger to life when he appeared at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month.

The court was told he was “extremely regretful” and “remorseful” over the incident and that the victim spent over a week in hospital and had to take three months off work. The delivery driver returned to the dock for sentencing on Tuesday where Sheriff Wendy Sheehan imposed a 16 month jail sentence.