A man who tried to murder a notorious killer and his family outside an Aberdeen pub has been jailed for ten years.

Matthew Boyle, 42, stabbed John Gallagher, his wife Sylvia and their daughter Charlie during the assault at the Broadsword Bar in August 2015.

The couple had travelled to visit their daughter from the Highlands, where Mr Gallagher moved after being released from a 20-year sentence for murdering a Glasgow butcher in the 1970s.

The court was told that on the night the attacks in Aberdeen happened, Mrs Gallagher had arranged to meet friends at the Broadsword, which was holding a cancer fundraising night.

They were assaulted by Boyle in the car park as they were making their way home in the early hours of the morning.

Boyle was convicted following a trial in Aberdeen after the jury rejected a claim that he had been acting in self-defence and returned guilty verdicts on attempted murder charges.

Passing sentence at the High Court in Edinburgh on Friday, Lord Burns said: "I accept that you did not go out on that evening looking for trouble.

"However, you found a weapon and you inflicted terrible injuries upon your victims.

"Given the circumstances of this offence, I must impose an extended sentence."

A man called Kevin Deans initially faced the same charges as Boyle. However, he was cleared of the allegations halfway through the trial.

Deans was instead convicted of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner, but the Crown decided not to move for sentence and he was freed.

The court heard how after Mr Gallagher, 64, arrived at the bar, he challenged Mr Deans for making "foul-mouthed and filthy" jibes at his daughter.

His friend Boyle ended up repeatedly stabbing Mr Gallagher and his family leaving them with life-threatening injuries.

In 1979, Mr Gallagher and David Cochrane were jailed for life after beating 64-year-old butcher Thomas Woods to death with iron bars for less than £100.

They also tried to kill Brian Coppins, an off-duty policeman, during the attack in Gallowgate, Glasgow.

Mr Gallagher was once held in Barlinnie's notorious special unit and in 1984 led a rooftop protest at Peterhead prison.