Seven men jailed over the 'brutal' doorstep murder of young dad Neil

SEVEN men who displayed "utter indifference" to the safety of a family when they shot a young father dead have all been jailed for life.

- By Grant McCabe

Neil Canney was gunned down outside his Inverclyde home more than two years ago.

The 37-year-old was murdered on the evening of Tuesday, February 28, 2023, after going to his front door thinking a friend was among a group standing outside.

Instead, he was shot amid a hail of bullets as relatives inside the property in Greenock cowered for safety.

Yesterday, the gang responsible received sentences totalling almost 150 years.

Jack Benson, 24, Dale Russell, 31, Martin McCusker, 41, Brendan Balloch, 25, Kieran Hendry, 26, and Michael Munro, 27, and Kieran Meechan, 29, were all handed life sentences at the High Court in Glasgow.

Six of them were convicted of murder and attempted murder following a trial in July.

Meechan had pleaded guilty to murder before the case began.

Trial judge Lady Drummond said the shooting was a "brutal attack planned in advance".

She spoke of reading emotional impact statements penned by grieving relatives of the victim that "describe in detail their utter heartbreak at their loss".