The 36-year-old victim was cycling through Witton Park when he was pushed to the ground and attacked by the gang.

The man, who has learning difficulties and has been described as vulnerable, was stopped by the youths as he tried to cross a footbridge at around 5.20pm on Sunday.

Police said the group of between six and nine Asian youths dragged the victim from his bike by his jacket before punching and kicking him while he was on the ground in the Preston Old Road park.

The attackers, who are all thought to be under 18, then stole his £300 red and black Apollo ‘Phaze’ gentleman’s mountain bike with white writing on it.

Detective Sergeant Rob Anderson from Blackburn CID urged people to be vigilant while walking through the park.

He said: “It is always a concern for us when people are victimised in public parks and this man has been left extremely upset and shaken by this incident.

“But we would like to reassure the public that there is hardly any crime in Witton Park and we will ensure that we work hard to ensure that no patterns develop in the area.

“Although there is no need for the public to be afraid, we would urge them to be extra vigilant whilst walking through the park with valuable items in their possession.”

Anyone with information should call Blackburn police on 08451 25 3545 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 55

Source

Nineteen-year-old friends were walking along Colne Road, between Hurtley Street and New Hall Street, when they were confronted by a gang of Asian youths and subjected to racist abuse.

The friends, both white, were challenged to a fight but were clearly outnumbered, according to police.

One of them was pushed into the road and subjected to kicks and punches.

Police said he was left with chest and rib injuries.

His friend was then pursued by some of the youths, towards Barden Lane, and was also attacked, resulting in him sustaining facial injuries.

Detective Constable Tim Maddox, of Pennine police division’s hate crimes unit, has just issued an appeal for witnesses to the violence, which is thought to have occurred between around 2.30pm and 3pm on Sunday.

“There is believed to have been a bus passing, around that time, and there may have been traffic backed up as a result of the incident,” he added.

The attacks took place close to an area of cleared terrace housing, which also housed the former Derby Arms pub.

Police say the larger group contained between 10 and 15 Asian youths, believed to be in their late teens.

The victims were allowed home after hospital treatment.

People with any information on those responsible for the attack are asked to call the unit on 01282 472282.

Alternatively call Crimestoppers, free and annonymously, on 0800 555111.

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Tom Carnegie, 74, was attacked by four or five men in Belgrave, Leicester, on Good Friday as he walked home from visiting his son.

Recovering at home yesterday, the retired hosiery worker and merchant seaman said: “I don’t know why they did it. This is not the world I grew up in.

“It was a lovely evening and I’d been to see my son and his girlfriend.

“I left them, as I always do, at about 11pm. Everything seemed fine.

“On the way home, I saw this group and just assumed they were locals. They asked me for a cigarette and I said, ‘of course’, because I’m a bit of a softie.

“I don’t really remember what happened next, but they just started hitting me.

“I tried to cover my face and head with my arms, but they got some blows in. I’ve got bruises all over.

“While I was down they went into my pocket and took my cigarette case and my wallet.

“I had £40 or £50 in it because I’d got my pension the day before.”

Police have branded the attack, in Payne Street, off Checketts Road, as “callous”.

They have urged the public to help them catch the gang.

“Hopefully, they will be caught before they do this to someone else,” said Mr Carnegie, a Londoner who moved to Leicester about 20 years ago.

“I will get over this,” he said. “I’ve got a good family around me and a lot of good friends. The wounds are healing, although I’m still a bit stiff.“

An elderly Asian couple found Mr Carnegie in the street and helped him home.

Officers want to trace them as they believe they may be able to help identify his attackers.

John Boyce, of Age Concern in Leicester, said: “While crimes like this are rare, if they become more common we would be diminished as a society. The biggest concern in cases like this is that the victim can lose all confidence and ability to go out again.“

The attackers were Asian, aged about 20 and all about 5ft 10in. They were all wearing black.

Detective Constable Sarah Poppleton said: “This was a nasty attack on an elderly man who was minding his own business. The people who have committed this callous crime need to be caught and we would appeal to the public to help us identify those responsible.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Det Con Poppleton on 0116 222 2222, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

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Five teenagers have been found guilty of their part in the incident in which a father-of-two was punched to the ground.

The five were part of a group of youths who were taken to on the trip on July 17 last year, the day of an English Defence League march in Dudley in the West Midlands.

The day-trip cost the public purse £2,113 and saw the group from the Tipton and Oldbury areas of the West Midands accompanied by a police officer and officials from the council.

The clash happened after the youths got off their coach and began chanting racist comments at Derek Brownhill, who had just got off a coach parked nearby.

The chants were heard by Mr Brownhill’s pregnant partner and two young daughters, as well as a group of elderly people, the court was told

In the ensuing confrontation Mr Brownhill was punched and hit with such force by Riad Hussain, 19, that both feet left the ground.

Wolverhampton Crown Court was told the blows left unconscious and with bruising and swelling to his face and head.

The group then punched Hussain, from Oldbury, in the face to give him a bruise so they could try to claim that his actions were in self defence.

Prosecutor David Swinnerton told the court that the teenagers – Hussain, Wasim Telhat, 18, Raja Rashid, 18, and two 17-year-olds – were part of a large group of Asian youths taken to Blackpool by coach on July 17 last year to avoid potential trouble.

At the time of the violence, two of the gang were on bail for a hammer attack in Tipton, West Midlands, that took place three months before the Blackpool incident.

Read More at Source.

Shiraz Arzal, 24, of Mansfield Crescent, Brierfield, Nelson is charged with causing or inciting a girl aged between 13 and 15 to engage in sexual activity.

Mohammed Imran Amjad, 24, of Halifax Road, Brierfield, Nelson, is charged with arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and child abduction.

Omar Mazafer, 20, of Halifax Road, Brierfield, Nelson is charged with two counts of Section 39 common assault.

All three men have been remanded into custody to appear at Burnley Magistrates’ Court on 11th March 11.

The charges follow an on-going investigation by detectives from the Freedom Team which aims to tackle child sexual exploitation in Pennine Division.

Source

The impersonator is still at large, but Kayfee Hameed, Sami Hamadok, Agar Hamid and Ahmed Omar are behind bars.

Hameed and Hamadok, from Middlesbrough, were jailed for six months, while Omar. Hamid, the youngest, was jailed for four months.

Judge Peter Bowers said at Teesside Crown Court: “It is suspected that far more of this impersonation goes on than is detected.

“A deterrent sentence is essential.

You all have considerable mitigation, but it is important that others learn not to commit this sort of offence.

“Impersonating someone taking a driving test is serious. It allows you to drive on the roads without an adequate knowledge of road safety.”

Defence barristers told Judge Bowers that the four men did not realise they were committing a serious offence at the time, but do now.

The court heard that Hamadok paid the man to stand in for him during tests in Middlesbrough and in Doncaster in September 2009.

The Teesside attempt was thwarted by an official who noticed differences between the candidate’s and Hamadok’s documents.

Paul Cleasby, prosecuting, said that the impostor passed the test in Doncaster, which allowed Hamadok to sit his driving test, but he failed.

The court heard that the 36- year-old’s credit card was used to book theory tests in the names of Hameed, 35, and Hamid, 20.

The same impersonator passed the exam in Harrogate for Hamid and in Grimsby, for Omar, 30, without any suspicions being raised.

When he tried the same for Hameed in Middlesbrough, the same official challenged him because his description did not match Hameed’s.

Robin Turton, for Hamadok, of Percy Street, Middlesbrough, said he made unprompted admissions to police and helped as much as he could.

Brian Mark, for former factory worker Hameed, of Meath Street, Middlesbrough, said he was desperate to be able to drive.

Rachel Dyson said Omar, of Eaton Close, Bristol, struggled to find work in the UK and thought it would be easier if he had a driving licence.

Elyas Patel, for Hamid, a part-time restaurant cashier, of Spalding Towers, Leeds, said he was deeply ashamed of what he had done.

He said he committed the offence out of a wish to contribute to society, but had been lulled into the lair of an unscrupulous individual.

The court heard that the four men, who admitted conspiracy to commit fraud, paid £400 to £500 to the impersonator.

A spokesman for the Driving Standards Agency said: “Driving test impersonation is a serious offence, which puts law abiding road-users at risk.

“We investigate all suspected incidents and work closely with the police to make sure that those responsible are brought to justice.”

Source

Akmol Hussein, 26, Sheikh Rashid, 27, Azad Hussain, 25, and Simon Alam, 19, attacked Gary Smith with a Stanley knife, an iron rod and a block of cement.

Mr Smith, who is head of religious education at Central Foundation Girls’ School in Bow, east London, also suffered a fractured skull.

The four now face a jail sentence.

Detectives made secret recordings of the gang’s plot to attack Mr Smith prior to the brutal assault.

The covert audio probe captured the gang condemning Mr Smith for ‘teaching other religions to our sisters’, the court heard.

The RE teacher was targeted as he made his way on foot along Burdett Road in nearby Mile End on July 12 last year, Snaresbrook Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Sarah Whitehouse told the court: ‘The evidence from what was said on the probe points overwhelmingly to a religious motive for this attack.’

It is believed the gang had made two earlier attempts to get at the teacher.

They were due to stand trial for the attack at Snaresbrook Crown Court but pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Read more:

The 13-year-old boy was walking home from Blessed Trinity RC College at 3-45 p.m. on Tuesday, January 11th, when he was jumped by a gang of Asian youths. He was pushed to the ground in Queen Victoria Road, near Thompson and Queen’s Parks, and was repeatedly punched in the face and body.

He was left with severe swelling to his eyes and nose, badly bruised ribs and injuries to his legs.

Anybody with any information is urged to contact Burnley police on 01282 425001 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Source

Joseph Haigh, 14, was savagely beaten by the gang of up to 15 Asian youths in Thornhill on Friday night.

The gang hurled racist abuse at him, constantly referring to the colour of his skin, yet police refused to classify the attack as racially-motivated.

Joseph’s dad Jonathan, 42, of Thornhill, said: “It was a racist attack.

“They were calling him ‘white trash’ and white this, that and the other.

“This is why people are angry about what is happening in this country.

“If it had been an attack by whites on an Asian lad it would have been a definite race attack. When it’s the other way round they don’t want to know.”

Joseph was out with his friends at around 9pm on Friday near Thornhill’s Rectory Park when the gang of Asians, said to be aged 18-20, came at them.

Joseph’s friends scattered and Joseph tried to make off on his bike, only to be confronted by one of the thugs who smashed him in the head with half a brick.

Mr Haigh, a lorry driver, told how that blow knocked his son unconscious and he instinctively put his hands over his face to protect himself.

Another youth lunged at him with a screwdriver while others kicked and punched him about the head.

Mr Haigh said: “They went to stab him in the face and it was only because he had his hands up that they missed.

“He was stabbed in one hand, his other hand was broken and a cut on his forehead was down to the bone.

“If they had hit him a bit harder with the house brick they could have killed him.

“They just left him for dead.”

Joseph’s teeth were also badly damaged and he may lose a tooth. His teeth were wired and he needed specialist treatment at the trauma unit at Leeds General Infirmary.

One of Joseph’s friends raised the alarm and when Mr Haigh arrived his son was laid out in a bus shelter covered in blood.

Joseph’s bike was also missing and was believed to have been stolen by the gang.

Joseph was off school all week and tensions were said to be running high at Thornhill Community Science College.

“It’s shocking what’s happened,” said Mr Haigh. “I have lived in Thornhill all my life and there were fights between whites and Asians 20 years ago. But this wasn’t braying someone and giving them a black eye, it was a vicious attack.

“You don’t go out with a house brick and a screwdriver if you’re not going to seriously hurt someone.”

Mr Haigh, who has a wife Stacey, 40, and another son James, 19, said he wanted out of Dewsbury.

“It used to be a good, thriving town but Dewsbury has got nothing to offer us anymore.”

A police spokesman said the initial police report had not classified the attack as racially-motivated but inquiries were continuing.

Insp Jenny Thompson, of Dewsbury police, said: “This was a vicious, unprovoked attack on a young boy which left him with some serious injuries.

“This kind of behaviour will not be tolerated within Dewsbury and we will be focusing extra patrols around the area as part of on-going work.

“The CID department are currently following some positive lines of inquiry. However I would still appeal for any witnesses or anyone with information to contact Dewsbury CID on 01924 431085 or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555 111.

Source

Leeds Crown Court was told detectives examined about 900 suspicious forms – many from people who did not exist or had no idea an application had been made on their behalf.

The plot was foiled before the conspirators had the chance to convert the applications into votes and, in the end, Mr Rashid was defeated by sitting Labour MP Marsha Singh who won with a majority of more than 3,000.

Prosecutors said that if the press had not intervened in May 2005, “the plan may well have been successful”.

Today former Bradford city councillor Jamshed Khan, 65, of Russell Street, Bradford; another former councillor Reis Khan, 40, of Whetley Hill, Bradford; Mohammed Sultan, 52, of Toller Lane, Bradford and Mohammed Rafiq, 70, of Cecil Avenue, Bradford, were each jailed for 21 months for their part in the conspiracy.

All four denied a charge of conspiring to defraud the electoral registration officer of Bradford City Council but were found guilty at a trial earlier this year.

Another defendant, Alyas Khan, 52, of Hilton Road, Bradford, admitted the offence and was jailed for 11 months.

Electoral Commission chairwoman Jenny Watson said: “We welcome the sentences given to the five men involved in the Bradford fraudulent registration case. Electoral fraud is a crime and, rightly, is taken seriously by the police, courts and all those involved in running elections.”

The court was told that up to 50 different people were involved in forging the applications although many have not been identified and others have not been brought to court.

Judge Robert Bartfield told the defendants: “To that extent, I can understand if some of you feel you are taking the entire responsibility for what was a much larger enterprise.”

The court heard that Rafiq even got his teenage daughter to help him fill out some of the 114 postal vote applications he was found to have forged.

Prosecutor Mark Ainsworth told the judge: “The ultimate goal for these conspiritors was clear.

“This was a well-organised and determined effort to subvert the democratic process in a parliamentary election.”

Mr Ainsworth said it was only newspaper coverage and the police investigation which stopped the men turning the applications into votes.

He said: “That, we say, prevented these conspirators from harvesting all the votes that they had lined up.

“If this fraud had not been detected, the plan may well have been successful.”

Mr Ainsworth told the court the scam operated in a number of different ways.

Some of it involved registering people to vote who did not exist. In other cases, it involved applying for votes for real people but without their knowledge.

One way this was done was by using multiple-occupation homes controlled by conspirators with communal postal systems.

The judge said part of the plot involved attempting to “harvest” the votes of those “unfamiliar or uninvolved in the British electoral process”.

Sentencing the five men, Judge Bartfield told them he had reduced their sentences considerably due to the severe medical conditions each is suffering from and the extreme delay which had been involved in their cases.

The court heard the men were arrested in 2005 and, in the meantime, two trials began but had to be stopped.

The third trial finished in July with the four convictions.

Earlier in the process, the candidate Mr Rashid was acquitted of the charge of conspiracy to defraud on the orders of the judge.

The court heard details about three of the five defendants’ connections with the Conservative Party.

As well as the two former Tory councillors, Alyas Khan was an officer with the party. But the two other defendants – Sultan and Rafiq – were not political activists, the judge was told.

Judge Bartfield told the court his understanding was that new postal voting procedures made this kind of fraud much more difficult to carry out.

He said there appeared to be evidence of this if the number of fraud cases linked to the 2005 general election is compared with this year’s poll, in which such offences were “rare”.

Some of the defendants wiped away tears as they left the dock to begin their prison sentences.

Many members of their families who packed the court were also crying.

The judge adjourned the case to a date to be fixed for questions of costs to be decided. Mr Ainsworth put the cost of prosecuting the case, not including the two aborted trials, at about £65,500.

A West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: “Election fraud has the potential to undermine confidence in the democratic process.

“Bradford City Council electoral unit raised concerns and a full and lengthy investigation was undertaken by West Yorkshire Police.

“Both Bradford Council and the returning officer work in close liaison with the police in regard to any allegations surrounding elections and together we are committed to ensuring that all elections are conducted fairly and impartially.”

Simon Orme, of the Crown Prosecution Service special crime division, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service takes electoral fraud very seriously indeed. These offences not only attack democracy, but they also have the potential to undermine the public’s perception of, and confidence in, the democratic system in this country.

“Alyas Khan, Mohammed Sultan, Mohammed Rafiq, Reis Khan and Jamshed Khan undertook a well-organised attempt to get ‘their man’ elected by dishonest means. They used a variety of methods to manipulate the postal voting system in the 2005 Parliamentary election for the West Bradford constituency.

“They failed in that attempt, but that in no way reduces the seriousness of their crimes. Their convictions should serve as a warning that the CPS will robustly prosecute those who attack our democratic system in this way and we are determined that anyone involved in these activities will be brought to justice.”

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