Ex-soldier caught on CCTV in Livingston police station petrol bomb attack

A former soldier has admitted endangering the life of a police officer in a petrol bomb attack on a police station.

Jamie Taylor, 34, threw three Molotov cocktails at a police van parked outside the building in Livingston, West Lothian on May 30, 2025.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Taylor, of Bo’ness, had told his mother “he was going to blow up Livingston police station”.

CCTV footage showed the bombs exploding on the ground, narrowly missing PC Kirsty Forsyth, who ran outside to tackle the flames with a fire extinguisher.

The court heard Taylor had eight previous convictions and was living temporarily with his mother at the time of the incident.

Prosecutor Wojciech Jazdelski said that on the day of the attack, Taylor had called him saying he had “a bag full of vodka bottles filled with petrol”.

The CCTV camera installed near the police station captured the moment when the hooded tailor started throwing petrol bombs.

The court watched footage of PC Forsyth coming out of the station with a fire extinguisher. Taylor’s third petrol bomb exploded at his feet before he fled the scene.

PC Forsyth’s colleagues pursued Taylor who was captured nearby a short time later.

The court heard he was found lying on the ground next to a bush which smelled strongly of fuel.

Defense lawyer Ian McSporran Casey said his client had serious mental health problems partly linked to his former army career.

Mr McSporran also praised PC Forsyth’s actions.

He further said, “She appeared very calm in these circumstances.”

Taylor pleaded guilty to breaching the 1883 Explosives Act and throwing a petrol bomb at PC Kirsty Forsyth “culpably and negligently”.

Judge Lady Ross said: “This was clearly a dangerous thing to do.”

Police Scotland Inspector Lindsay McIntyre said it was a “completely reckless act” which endangered the lives of all officers and staff at the station.

She said: “Thankfully, no one was injured, but the outcome of the incident could have been much worse.

“Every officer has a fundamental right to come home from each shift unharmed, and no one should be targeted in this way.”

Taylor will be sentenced at the High Court in Stirling in January.