A total of 10 men have been jailed for a combined 130 years after setting fire to a home in a ‘revenge attack’ that severely injured a woman and a teenage girl.
On December 16, 2021, shortly before 11pm, a group of men smashed the downstairs windows of a house on Beverley Drive in Stoke-on-Trent and poured petrol into the hallway and outside the living room window.
A 31-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl were inside at the time, both of whom had no choice but to jump out of an upstairs window.
Police confirmed that the mother had been struck on the head and set on fire; she suffered 65% burns, a broken pelvis, broken ribs, and a cut to her liver.
She spent two months in a coma and was not expected to survive, but she is now walking again and is predicted to need medical treatment for life.
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The child suffered 15% burns to her arm, requiring skin grafts, in what Staffordshire Police’s major investigations department called a ‘truly shocking’ act of violence.
An 11-week trial followed at Nottingham Crown Court, which concluded in February, while several men entered guilty pleas prior to the trial.
Today, at Leicester Crown Court, seven men were sentenced, while three others had already been sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
On June 3, Bilal Ahmed, 27, of Normacot, Stoke-on-Trent, and Naveed Hussain, 32, of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, were sentenced.
Ahmed was given 15 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, as well as 100 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to violent disorder.
Hussain was sentenced to 22 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after pleading guilty to violent disorder and possession of a knife blade or sharp pointed article in a public place.
On July 7, Kashif Ahmed, 26, of Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to 48 weeks in prison after pleading guilty to violent disorder.
Sentenced today, Haris Mahmood, 22, of Normacot, Stoke-on-Trent, was given 24 years and nine months, having pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life.
Shakil Uddin, 23, of Oldham, was sentenced to 34 years after being convicted of one count of attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life.
Ali Abbas, 23, of Normacot, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed for 25 years after pleading guilty to numerous charges: two counts of attempted murder and arson with intent to endanger life, two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent, and possession of a knife or blade in a public place.
Riyadh Iqbal, 23, of Normacot, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years after being found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent and arson with intent to endanger life.
Tayyeb Majeed, 24, of Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, was jailed for 10-and-a-half years after a conviction for grievous bodily harm with intent.
Lukman Khan, 25, of Normacot, Stoke-on-Trent, was sentenced to 12-and-a-half years after being found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent and arson with intent to endanger life.
Finally, Muhammad Sufyaan-Shah, 25, was sentenced to 11-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent.
All will serve two-thirds of their sentences, with the rest on license.
The court heard how, at approximately 4pm on the day of the fire, a fight broke out between Hussain, Abbas, Bilal Ahmed, and Kashif Ahmed.
According to police, the brawl on Kildare Street, Longton, resulted in Kashif Ahmed sustaining a stab wound to his shoulder, for which he went to hospital.
Then, several hours later, a gang went to the two-bed property on Beverley Drive and demanded to speak to Hussain, at which point the revenge attack was carried out.
Hussain’s ex-partner was ‘relaxing in her home’ at the time, unaware that he had been in a street fight earlier on, while her teenage daughter was ‘on her phone upstairs’ when she heard the men breaking in, demanding to know where her stepdad was. It is believed Hussain visited his ex and her child at the house ‘periodically’.
Judge Mayo said it is ‘virtually impossible to imagine a more horrific scene’ than what the victims faced that night, with the girl having recalled hearing her mother screaming as her ‘hair, face, arms, and legs’ were on fire while she was unclothed.
The attack was described as ‘deliberate revenge for the relatively minor injury to Kashif Ahmed’, with prosecutor Siobhan Collins adding: ‘It is clear when that was put in motion the intended victim was Naveed Hussain.’
Commenting after the offenders were sentenced, Detective Constable Howard Davies said: ‘We hope these sentences send a strong message that this kind of violence will not be tolerated and that those responsible will be held to account.’
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