Community pays tribute to domestic abuse worker murdered in her Paisley home

A DOMESTIC abuse expert has been murdered and a boy left fighting for his life following an attack.

Alyson Watt, 52, was subjected to a violent assault in her Paisley home on Friday evening.

A teenager was also injured in the incident and is in a critical condition in hospital with “severe” injuries.

Police have confirmed they are treating the incident as murder and attempted murder.

Alyson – who worked for the charity Barnardo’s – was described by neighbours as “a lovely, quiet woman” who was intelligent and caring.

Irene Boyd, 68, said: “She was a quiet woman who kept herself to herself.

“I’d say hello to her in the street if I saw her and I saw her walking her dog. My husband was walking past the house last night and saw a body lying on the floor. The door was wide open and the paramedics were just arriving.

“The whole street was full of police.”

Another neighbour, Rosemary Boyle, said she would often see Alyson when she went to the local shop.

The 65-year-old said: “My son runs the shop so she was in and out all the time.

“She was smart, so intelligent and really funny.

“She was just a lovely woman.

“She had a really good job – she was always saying she had meetings to go to for her work and she was busy with that.

“It’s just so awful.”

Alyson had been a respected worker for Barnardo’s working at its Paisley Threads centre as a project worker.

She was considered an expert in her field and specialised in working with young mums who suffered from domestic abuse.

Later this year, she had been due to speak at a seminar in London on “young people who use abuse in close relationships”.

In 2014, she was among the team at Barnado’s who helped secure a £600,000 funding grant for the vital work.

Last night, charity chiefs said they were “shocked” by what had happened.

Barnardo’s Scotland boss Martin Crewe said: “We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of our colleague Alyson Watt, who was a much-valued and long-standing member of staff in Paisley.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected by this tragedy and we are continuing to support police with their inquiries.”

Yesterday afternoon, friends of the family stood in shock at the police cordon blocking entry to the family’s street.

Officers were examining drains and scouring the garden of the house in Penilee Road.

A blue and white forensic tent had also been erected at the front door of the three bedroom semi-detached property – which is worth around £190,000 – in the quiet road close to the community sports centre.

Forensic officers took photos of the scene.

Later yesterday, a body was removed and taken away by private ambulance.

Ralston Community Councillor Paul Masterton said: “This is a tight-knit community.

“We are completely in shock. We have quarterly meetings with the police to discuss community crime and the most we get is three or four cases of attempted break-ins in cars. This is completely out of the ordinary.”

Local MP Gavin Newlands said locals will “rally around the family in these dark times”.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman confirmed two ambulances and its special operations response team were sent to the incident.

They said: “We received a call at 4.50pm on June 2 to attend an address in Paisley.

“One male patient has been taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.”

A 54-year-old man was arrested in Dumfries and Galloway in connection with the incident following a police manhunt.