A LONG-running family dispute led to a man appearing in court

Masood Ali, 33, appeared before Bradford Crown Court yesterday to be sentenced after pleading guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and theft.

The offences unfolded on October 25, 2020, when a balaclava-clad Ali, of Newlands Place, Undercliffe, unleashed the assault outside his victim's home.

During the struggle, the man, who recognised his assailant as the son of his father's cousin, was hit around the face and pushed down some steps, the court heard.

It was captured on CCTV and the incident happened against the backdrop of an ongoing family feud.

He pleaded guilty to theft on the basis that he took his victim's mobile phone, thinking it was his own, then threw it away when he realised.

There had been no further incidents, the court was told. Ali had no previous convictions and was otherwise a "responsible, hard-working man".

Recorder Anthony Hawks told him: "You've got to understand, particularly because you're a large, well-built man, when you start using violence, there's no telling where it will end up."

Ali was made the subject of restraining order and received a sentence of six months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.