Victim Condemns 'Too Light' 12 Year Sentence

A police officer who was left in a wheelchair after being shot by a spurned colleague has condemned the sentence handed down to his former lover.

The police sergeant is now paralysed, while the policewoman who shot him has today been sentenced to 12 years in jail.

Diane Northcott, 41, pleaded guilty to attempted murder after trying to kill her ex lover when she shot him with her police issue handgun.

Sergeant Laurence Smyth was shot several times inside Newtownabbey police station in September 2006.

The pair had been having an affair, but after the sergeant tried to end the relationship she arrived at the police station and shot him in the neck and thigh.

Sgt Smyth suffered spinal injuries and is now confined to a wheelchair.

At a sentencing hearing at Belfast Crown Court, Justice Hart said the consequences of Northcott's attack warranted a heavy sentence.

"Of particular significance is the catastrophic nature of the injuries she has inflicted upon Sergeant Smyth, and the extremely grave disability from which he will suffer for the rest of his life," he said.

"This requires a sentence at the upper end of the appropriate scale for cases of attempted murder."

Speaking outside the court, Sergeant Smyth said the sentence was "far too light".

"In six years time she will walk out, but I will still be in the wheelchair," he said.

(BMcC)