Eight Scottish men are due to stand trial after a gang of masked men attacked a property in Cheshire, in violence understood to be linked to warring traveller families at a yard owned by the McGinleys.
Shocking footage at the time showed a tipper truck reversing at speed into vehicles parked in the driveway of a house in Middlewich on Saturday, September 12. Dozens of masked men, allegedly wielding baseball bats and pick-axes as weapons, then jumped out of a convoy of cars.
Armed mob descended on Middlewich home
Horrifying scenes appeared to show the men trashing motors and smashing the windows of the home. The truck used in the ramming was then set on fire during the chaos. The armed mob dispersed upon being chased by a man who emerged from the house.
Cheshire Constabulary arrested and charged eight Scottish men in connection with the incident. The men appeared at Chester Crown Court on November 2.
Guilty pleas and remaining charges
James Lowe, 29, Nathaniel Lowe Snr, 58, Nathaniel Lowe Jnr, 34, Billy McPhee, 51, John McPhee, 30, and William McPhee, 26, pleaded guilty to both violent disorder and having an offensive weapon, which were listed in court papers as axes, baseball bats and metal bars.
James McPhee, 19, and a defendant aged under 18, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to violent disorder only. All eight men pleaded not guilty to the remaining charges.
Prosecutors claim these include two counts of arson relating to a Renault tipper truck, registration NX54 KMG, which was allegedly set on fire. One charge alleges the fire was started with the intention of endangering the life of William McGinley, while another alleges recklessness as to whether his life would be endangered. They also pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm against Bridget McGinley, and to two counts of criminal damage.
Wider feud tensions across Scotland
The defendants are due to stand trial at Chester Crown Court on January 6, 2027.
The Record had earlier reported on a series of violent incidents and escalating tensions involving rival traveller families across Scotland. One incident saw a brawl erupt on the streets of Rutherglen in South Lanarkshire, with thugs brandishing shovels seen clashing outside a newsagents on Hamilton Road in a day-time feud on September 9.
A week later, footage showed yobs chasing a car, reportedly owned by a traveller family member, along Knightswood Road in Glasgow, and violently ramming their van into the vehicle. The footage, taken from inside a van, showed a man wildly screaming, "There you go, there you go, we done it, running boys", as the van chased after a black car. The van clocked up dangerous speeds as it raced past rows of houses in the residential area, and was seen smashing into the back of the car as airbags deployed inside and it came to a halt.
On September 26, a video was released online showing a mangled red car with a smashed windscreen, with the bodywork battered and framework ripped apart. Thugs behind the clip claimed it was trashed after a confrontation between rival clans.
In May 2021, shocking footage emerged of a caravan being targeted in what appeared to be a co-ordinated attack at Queen's Drive Retail Park in Kilmarnock. The chaotic video showed one car ramming the caravan, with hooded figures filmed using weapons to attack the caravan and another vehicle, while screams could be heard from inside as glass shattered.
