A GANG of men who brought “acts of extreme violence to a quiet cul-de-sac” in Bradford have been jailed for a total of 57 years.

The clash between “two criminal groups” erupted in Hollybank Gardens in Great Horton on October 3 last year, with one man left beaten in a pool of blood after firing a shotgun at a car.

Five men were sentenced for their role in the incident yesterday after being found guilty following a long-running trial at Bradford Crown Court.

BACKGROUND: The night a quiet cul-de-sac turned into a warzone

Ajaz Saddiq, 38, of Hollybank Gardens, Great Horton, Shahid Saddiq, 36, of Waverley Road, Great Horton, and Nazim Hussain, 39, of Fairbank Road, Girlington, were found guilty of unlawfully and maliciously wounding Mohammed Waris with intent to cause him grievous bodily harm.

Waris, 22, of Northside Terrace, Lidget Green, Dhaanish Akmal, 19, of Aberdeen Terrace, Lidget Green, and Tariq Adalat, 35, of Northside Terrace, Lidget Green, faced charges of conspiracy to have in their possession a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life, conspiracy to possess a firearm without a firearms certificate, and conspiracy to handle stolen goods.

Waris and Akmal were found guilty of all charges.

Adalat was found guilty of conspiracy to handle stolen goods, but the jury was unable to agree on two remaining allegations against him and he faces a re-trial on those charges starting on January 15 next year.

On the evening of October 3, Waris and Akmal travelled to Ajaz Saddiq’s home on Hollybank Gardens in a black VW Polo stolen on September 29.

The court heard that while on the street, the vehicle was “rammed” in a “pincer movement” by two Audis, one containing Ajaz Saddiq and his young son, and the other containing Shahid Saddiq and Hussain.

Waris fired a shotgun at Ajaz Saddiq’s car, causing damage to the vehicle.

Judge Jonathan Rose said it was “good fortune and nothing more” that the shots hit the car and no-one was injured.

The court was told that before Waris could reload the gun, he was dragged out of the car and attacked.

One witness said she saw up to five men taking turns in “kicking and stamping something on the ground.”

Another witness said she vomited after sering Waris’s blood-stained face after the beating.

He spent a month in hospital as a result of his injuries, which included a bleed on the brain and multiple fractures to his face.

Prosecutor David Brooke said yesterday that Waris and Akmal had gone to Ajaz Saddiq’s home in a manner designed to “endanger his life.”

He said the “sustained assault” on Waris had equated to around 20 minutes of physical violence.

“This was a meeting of two criminal groups who clashed in a violent way,” he said.

In mitigation, the court heard from Rodney Ferm that Waris was a “willing foot soldier” in what took place, adding that his client still suffered from headaches and nightmares from the assault.

Akmal was described by Frida Hussain as a young man who was “clearly being directed by others”, and someone whose first custodial sentence would have a “devastating” effect.

Simon Kealey, for Ajaz Saddiq, said the “trouble had come to him” on his home street, stating that the “threat of lethal” force against him and his son was a provocation to the incident that followed.

Shufqat Khan said that father-of-four Shahid Saddiq was a “hard-working family man” who had not been involved in any ongoing feud or criminal groups.

Ian Brook said Nazim Hussain’s only involvement in the attack was trying to wrestle the firearm away from Waris, although he said his client had admitted kicking him.

He described him as a family man and a “big, friendly giant’”, to which Judge Rose replied: “Except on the 3rd of October 2016.”

Summing up the incident, Judge Rose said: “This was a pre-arranged incident of violence. It was intended there would be a conflict in the street that night. This was not a chance happening.

He said the violence appeared to have arisen from a dispute within a family, although it was difficult to say more as none of the men had sought to tell the truth to the court.

He said the men had brought “acts of extreme violence to a quiet cul-de-sac,” adding that the altercation was the “result of a growing conflict between men willing to use violence to a high degree.”

Jailing Waris for 13 years, Judge Rose told him: “It was you who discharged that weapon in Hollybank Gardens. That you received injuries from a savage beating is of your own making.”

Sentencing Akmal to ten years in a young offenders institution, Judge Rose said he couldn’t be satisfied he had physically held the firearm, but told him he had been a “willing participant in the conspiracy.”

Describing the attack on Waris, Judge Rose said it was a “relentless and vicious attack on a vulnerable man offering no resistance.”

Jailing Ajaz Saddiq for 12 years, he told him he had played a “leading role” in the gang attack, also adding he had committed an “act of gratuitous degradation” by taking photos of his bloodied victim.

Shahid Saddiq and Hussain were both jailed for 11 years, with Judge Rose stating that while he accepted they had played a lesser role that Ajaz Saddiq, they had chosen to engage in the “concerted attack” and had brought weapons, a lump hammer and a knife, to the scene.

Speaking after the case, senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Nicola Bryar, of West Yorkshire Police, said: “These men were involved in a shockingly violent incident which saw a firearm discharged and one man hospitalised with serious injuries.

“These strong sentences show that police and the courts will not tolerate such violence and will always take strong action where firearms are found to be involved.

“I would also like to thank the members of the public who assisted the police in bringing the offenders to justice.”

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