Three young women carried out a savage attack on a defenceless victim in a South Ayrshire village – which a judge called “one of the most violent” he’d ever seen footage of in court.

Paige Alexander, Kaitlyn Rodgers and Madison Taylor were all teenagers when they carried out the attack – which Rodgers’ own lawyer described as “horrendous”.

The trio, all now 20, were held in the cells at Ayr Sheriff Court while a judge considered how best to punish them after the grisly footage was shown in court.

But when they were brought back into the dock several hours later, Sheriff Desmond Leslie told them he wouldn’t be imposing a prison sentence.

Rodgers repeatedly stamped on the female victim's head in the shocking attack in a street in Tarbolton.

Along with Taylor, she repeatedly punched and kicked the woman on the head and body, while Alexander filmed the horrific attack on her phone.

The attackers were all aged 17 or 18 at the time of the assault, which took place near the Black Bull pub in the village more than two years ago.

And the sheriff warned them all that if they step out of line during their community-based sentence, they can expect to spend two years behind bars.

Fiscal depute Jade Podlesny said two witnesses had met the three accused at a bus stop at around 6pm on January 24, 2022, before going to a friend’s house.

“All the accused were drinking with two householders,” Ms Podlesny said.

“The witnesses were not drinking and left after half an hour.

“The accused Alexander was not happy and said to the witnesses ‘you’re not leaving already’.

“There was a disagreement with the accused Alexander and Rodgers. The witnesses then left and headed towards the Black Bull public house.

“A short time later, Alexander, Rodgers and Taylor approached one of the witnesses. Taylor ran up and punched her head, grabbed her hair and pulled her to the ground.

“Taylor and Rodgers then repeatedly punched and kicked the witness on the head and body. Rodgers repeatedly stamped on her head.

“The assault was filmed by Paige Alexander. The second witness ran into the pub to contact police, and the accused fled.”

The victim’s injuries included swelling, a large graze to the left side of the head, a small graze to the right side, and grazes to both knees.

The court was told she declined medical attention.

All the accused were later traced in Maybole and told they would be the subject of a report to the procurator fiscal, but were not cautioned and charged at that point.

During the horrific video footage, shown in court, shouts of ‘you f*****g deserved that, tramp’, ‘kick her head’ and ‘you f*****g idiot’ could be heard, along with screams, and laughter from the trio as the victim was kicked to the head.

Alexander, of Princes Court in Ayr, was the subject of a bail order, granted at Ayr Sheriff Court on October 7, 2021, at the time of the incident.

Katherine Grant, representing Alexander and Taylor, said her clients accepted their involvement.

Ms Grant said: “Drugs and alcohol have been a large part of [Alexander's] life, but she doesn’t seek to use that as an excuse.

"Quite frankly, in the few hours spent in custody, she has been quite terrified.

“Ms Taylor is deeply ashamed of her actions, and recognises the potential for her behaviour to be extremely harmful and cause significant damage. She offers no mitigation.”

Ian Gillies, representing Rodgers, added: “There is absolutely no mitigation I can put forward.

“She had, by her own account, taken drugs and alcohol, which may be some explanation for this horrendous behaviour.

“She appreciates fully that it may result in a custodial sentence.”

Sheriff Leslie said: "This is one of the most violent episodes I have ever seen in this court. What makes it worse is the fact it was unprovoked and premeditated.

"None of you seem to have considered the consequences. Even when the girl was down, you jumped on her head. She wasn't able to defend herself; she was getting her head kicked in.

"You are very fortunate the girl was not more seriously injured. This was violent behaviour for no reason other than your personal satisfaction, or maybe some revenge for whatever was said at the party.

"She was effectively ambushed by you and got her head kicked in. The fact you are three young girls makes it even worse. So what do I do to punish you?”

After pleas from the dock "to give us one last chance”, Sheriff Leslie added: “Prison is not a pleasant experience. [The victim] wasn’t given ‘one last chance’. Why should I give you one?

“I can impose a sentence of up to five years. You would have to apply for parole. That’s how serious this is.”

But instead of jail, Sheriff Leslie put all three on community payback orders with 18 months of social work supervision.

Each will have to complete 120 hours of unpaid work.

The sheriff added: “If there are any breaches whatsoever, you can expect two years in custody.”