A judge criticised the legal profession as he was forced to adjourn a sentencing hearing on three young men who wounded a vulnerable man.

Matthew Ellis, 41, was pelted with rocks and stones and struck with his own metal detector when he was attacked by a gang as he walked home on a path near Frizinghall Community Centre, Frizinghall, Bradford, on Easter Monday last year.

Majid Ali, 20, of Aireville Road, Frizinghall, and a 16-year-old youth from Frizinghall who cannot be named, were found guilty by a jury in June of wounding Mr Ellis with intent. Amar Shah, 18, of Lynthorne Road, Frizinghall, changed his plea to the charge to guilty during the trial.

All three were due to be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court yesterday but the case was adjourned until September 21 after a series of last-minute complications.

Judge Jonathan Rose said: “This is not a day when the legal profession has covered itself in much glory.”