A biker gang war has broken out in Scotland following a terrifying ambush on a motorway. Mark “Bruni” Brown, president of the Mad Dogs Motorcycle Club, said he and fellow bikers were attacked with swords and bats on the M74 near Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, on August 2. Brown and his crew were allegedly set upon by 12 weapon-wielding yobs on their return home to Scotland from England.
The 63-year-old was hospitalised but has vowed to fight. Police Scotland is now investigating the violence.
Social Media Response
In a since-deleted social media post, Bruni wrote: “A bit of background to what has been going on with the dogs. This is NOT rumours or bulls***, just straight facts. To set it straight YES we were attacked on the M74 motorway by 12 masked and heavily armed cowardly cardboard gangster puppets with swords, bats and anything they could grab as a weapon.
“Here’s their version, ‘We are all in hospital and some of us are dead’. Clearly not, you incompetent cowards. You know what, we’re still standing and always will be! We have the same rights to drive on the roads as anyone else, doing what we want to do, but some people just can’t handle the fact we’re still here and growing stronger.”
Previous Violence
The recent violence is not the first spat between biker groups in Scotland. In November 2023, a 67-year-old Royal Navy veteran was left with a bleed on the brain after a 20-strong gang attacked a motorbike garage in Glasgow. Around £30,000 of damage was caused at Totally Spanners Garage in Hillington Industrial Estate.
A source told the Record at the time: “The guys were inside the garage with two friends when about 20 guys piled in wearing balaclavas and armed to the teeth with weapons. All hell just broke loose. They’ve shoved one of the guy’s into the corner and whacked him around the side of the head with a spanner multiple times. He ended up in hospital with a bleed on the brain, a broken thumb and bruises all over his body. He also hurt his ankle after falling during the attack and landing on a bin.”
Pipe Bomb Incident
In November 2024, Daniel Laponder, 43, was jailed for nine years for planting a pipe bomb under a rival's father's van. The target was David Rollo senior's work van in Lennoxtown, East Dunbartonshire, on June 8 that year. Mr Rollo's son was a member of the Blue Angels Motorcycle Club, and Laponder was an ex-member who formed the Mad Dogs after leaving.
Judge Lord Arthurson said the background was “somewhat bizarre stemming from a feud between the Blue Angels and Mad Dogs after you left the Blue Angels.” Police linked Laponder to the attack via the Mad Dogs Facebook account and video doorbell footage. Laponder was also found with a shotgun on his barge in Kirkintilloch.
Hammer Attacks
In 2018, a violent turf war broke out after a hammer attack. Blue Angels member Ian Ewing was jailed for seven years for attempting to murder Nomad rival Colin Sutherland. The attack in Cullen, Banffshire, involved running bikers off the road and attacking them with hammers and baseball bats. A source said the attack was revenge for earlier assaults on Blue Angels members.
The feud was partly over control of motorcycle festivals. A source close to the Nomads said: “The Blue Angels want to control the north-east but they’ve never managed to get into Aberdeen. They’ve bullied other smaller gangs into joining them and they come up in massive numbers to try to intimidate other bikers.”
Historical Violence
In 1984, Glasgow-born William ‘Jock’ Ross led the Comancheros gang in a bloody brawl with the Bandidos in Australia, leaving a 15-year-old girl dead. Ross, who grew up in the Gorbals, said: “In the old Glasgow days you never backed off, that’s how you survived. The Gorbals was tough and you had to be tough too.” He served five years in jail after the clash.
