Dundee ‘pram attack’ case dropped by Crown

Two Dundee women accused of assaulting a boy and beating his mother “to the danger of life” will not face further criminal proceedings.

Keri McLean, 28, and Caroline Clark, 51, were facing allegations that they assaulted the mother and son on a footpath in the Whitfield area of the city.

The pair, who both reside at The Aspens in Whitfield, were accused of hauling the mother to the ground, before repeatedly hitting her.

McLean and Clark were alleged to have repeatedly punched and stamped on her head and body, before striking her with a pram.

Prosecutors also alleged that the pair assaulted the woman’s 10-year-old son by grabbing his hair and pulling him to the ground then repeatedly kicking him on the body.

The two women had initially denied the charges of assault to danger of life, assault to injury and behaving in a threatening and abusive manner when appearing at Dundee Sheriff Court.

Solicitors acting for Ms McLean and Ms Clark had lodged a special defence of self-defence for their clients but that was not accepted by the Crown.

As a result, they were set to stand trial before Sheriff Alastair Carmichael.

However, the Tele can reveal that the Crown is not going to proceed with the case.

It’s understood evidence that would have been central to the trial is no longer available to prosecutors.

A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said today: “It is the duty of the Crown to keep cases under review, and following full and careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the available admissible evidence, the procurator fiscal decided there should be no further criminal proceedings at this time.”

However, he added that the COPFS “reserves the right to raise criminal proceedings should further evidence come to light”, meaning the case could be re-opened in the future.

When the Tele approached Ms McLean and Ms Clark for comment, a woman at a house in The Aspens said that they were unavailable.