Two men convicted of killing schoolgirl Caroline Glachan have launched a bid to have their sentences quashed.

Robert O'Brien and Andrew Kelly were jailed for murdering the 14-year-old, whose body was discovered on the banks of the River Leven in Renton, West Dunbartonshire, in August 1996.

Earlier this month at the High Court in Glasgow, O'Brien, 45 was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years while Kelly, 44, was ordered to serve at least 18 years behind bars.

Donna Marie Brand, 44, was also found guilty of the schoolgirl's murder and is due to be sentenced in March.

O'Brien and Kelly have now instructed their legal teams to challenge both their convictions and the length of their prison sentences.

A spokesman for Scottish Courts and Tribunals said: “Robert O’Brien and Andrew Kelly have notified the court of their intention to appeal both the conviction and sentence. The grounds of appeal have yet to be submitted.

“Once that has been done, it will go through the sift process where a senior judge will decide whether or not there are arguable grounds for an appeal to proceed. If this is granted a hearing will be fixed to consider the evidence.”

During 10 days of evidence, the jury heard that O’Brien, Kelly and Brand had arranged to meet Caroline at a bridge near a towpath beside the River Leven, between Renton and Bonhill in West Dunbartonshire.

Dumbarton and Vale of Leven Reporter:

They repeatedly punched and kicked her and threw bricks or similar items at her, causing blunt force trauma to her head and body.

She was pushed or fell into undergrowth and her body was discovered in the river at Place of Bonhill, Renton, later the same day, which was her mother’s 40th birthday.

Sentencing them, Judge Lord Braid described the murder as “brutal, depraved and above all wicked”.

He said O’Brien was the main perpetrator and used “extreme violence” on the teen.

The judge said while Kelly played a lesser role, he was also involved in inflicting “murderous violence” on the teenager.

He said: “Caroline was a lover of life but due to both of you Caroline has been deprived of the opportunity of living that life, becoming an adult, having children, fulfilling the potential she had.

“You have taken a daughter from a loving mother. Mrs McKeich has spoken of the pain that Caroline’s death has caused, the void her death has left that will never be filled.

“She has been deprived of seeing the woman that Caroline would have become. No sentence that I pass could possibly make up for what she has lost.”

The trio were all found guilty after a cold case investigation was reopened in 2019.