How gang terrorised doomed estate

Three members of a gang who terrorised a London housing estate have been given long spells in jail. Their reign ended when one of them fired shots as two policemen chased him.

The case has some echoes in the 2009 film Harry Brown, in which Michael Caine plays a pensioner and ex-soldier who turns vigilante to combat a gang of violent youths terrorising a council estate.

That film was shot on the Heygate estate in Elephant and Castle, south London, not far from where Caine grew up.

A few months before the film came out, in the summer of last year, a real-life gang - led by Callum Hall and Deniz Ozdil - was terrorising the nearby Aylesbury estate.

In one incident Hall, now 21, 18-year-old Anthony Babalola and two other gang members forced their way into a flat in a tower block and threatened a young woman, Karen Sohyly, and her two young children with a gun.

Philip Bennetts, prosecuting, takes up the story: "They demanded to know where her brother Patrick was. Hall showed her bullets in the gun."

At one point Ms Sohyly's 10-year-old daughter told Hall: "Please don't shoot my mum".

Mr Bennetts said: "Hall said he was the one running the estate. He would be running things from now on."

A week later the gang approached a teenager and demanded money from him, waving a hunting knife and a pistol in his face.

Seven days later, on 5 August 2009, Hall - by now wanted for questioning by police - was spotted not far from Waterloo station in central London.

He abandoned a bicycle and ran off, pursued by PC Colin Hutton and PC Vincent Turner.

At one point he turned and fired in the direction of the officers.

Customers enjoying the sunshine outside several restaurants watched the chase and - in a CCTV clip shown to the jury - could be seen reacting in shock to the gunshots.

In court PC Turner described the incident: "His arm was outstretched and I could see the tip of the gun or the barrel of the gun. He was pointing it towards me and he's clicked it.

"He held the gun in his right hand. He fired it and it's made a bang this time. The bang made me duck to the right.

"I believe that if he had hit me it would have hit me directly from the chest outwards - the chest, neck or face."

Hall was acquitted of attempted murder by the Old Bailey jury after he claimed he was not aiming at the officers.

Judge Brian Barker, the Common Serjeant of London, praised PC Hutton and PC Turner: "Their devotion to duty when under fire and afterwards was of the highest order.

"London is fortunate to be protected by officers of that quality and they deserve to be commended."

Hall eventually shook off his pursuers, but was arrested two weeks later, still in possession of the 9mm Baikal pistol fired.

But the reign of terror was not over.

A few days later Babalola visited Ms Sohyly and threatened to shoot her if she gave evidence against Hall.

Babalola said: "You grass and you will all get sprayed."

Changing landscape

But the gang was arrested before members could follow up their threats.

Crucially, eyewitnesses had the courage to testify.

The gang members were sentenced on Friday.

Hall was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection with a minimum term of 13 years.

Ozdil was given 10 years for possession of a firearm with intent to rob.

Babalola was jailed for a total of five-and-a-half years.

Soon the landscape in which the gang operated will change out of all recognition.

The Heygate and Aylesbury housing estates are in the process of being demolished as part of Southwark Council's plan to regenerate the Elephant and Castle area.

Those two projects will cost £3.9bn and involve the construction of hundreds of new homes, shops and open spaces and the rebuilding of several schools.

Jean Bartlett, chair of the Aylesbury Tenants Association, said it was unfair to describe it as a "sink estate" but she conceded there were problems and the blocks needed to come down and be redeveloped.

"It will take about 20 years to complete and cost billions of pounds but it's considered a high priority and hopefully the money can be found for it," she said.

Sawn-off shotgun pair Yasir Nassir and Kuldipsingh Atwal from Walsall jailed

TWO men from Walsall have been jailed after police found sawn-off shotguns under the seats of a car.

Firearms officers pulled over the Citroen C3 driven by Yasir Nassir at 5am on September 10 last year in Newtown Row, Birmingham.

They spotted shotgun cartridges in the rear seat footwell and a search of the car – in which Kuldipsingh Atwal was a passenger – uncovered two short-barrelled firearms, plus a starter pistol, hidden under the seats.

Subsequent searches of 45-year-old Nassir's home in Moncrieffe Street, Walsall, uncovered another shotgun, a silencer, two air rifles, pellets and blank 6mm cartridges.

Both Nassir and 49-year-old Atwal, from Stafford Street in Walsall, denied knowledge of the guns but refused to answer any police questions when interviewed.

Nassir went on to admit possessing firearms with Atwal found guilty on the same offences and at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday (March 10) they were jailed for seven and eight years respectively.

West Midlands Police Detective Inspector Vanessa Eyles said the tough sentences should act as a warning to anyone possessing illegal firearms.

She said: "This was a great piece of police work: intelligence suggested the car was linked to firearms and the information proved spot on. Firearms officers did a brilliant job in safely stopping the car, arresting the man and securing the weapons. 

"Atwal and Nassir tried to distance themselves from the weapons but that's not easy when you're driving around in a car in the early hours of the morning with them at your feet.

"We had no evidence these shotguns had been fired in anger but possession alone leaves offenders facing many years behind bars. This result is a strong message to the criminal fraternity that holding illegal weapons will be dealt with severely by us and the courts."

Both men have previous convictions for violent offences. Atwal was convicted in 2011 at Wolverhampton Crown Court for robbery and jailed for three years, while Nassir was given a four-and-a-half year sentence, also for robbery, at Lincoln Crown Court in 2010.

Read more at http://www.walsalladvertiser.co.uk/8203-sawn-off-shotgun-pair-yasir-nassir-and-kuldipsingh-atwal-from-walsall-jailed/story-30202881-detail/story.html#4OMOVC9BE7S78sCV.99

Oliver Tetlow killing: Mother’s emotional plea a year after son gunned down in Harlesden street

The mother of a man shot dead with a machine gun in a case of mistaken identity has begged witnesses to the killing to come forward.

Oliver Tetlow was killed in a drive-by shooting in Harlesden a year ago today when a man fired a spray of bullets before jumping into a black coloured vehicle which sped away from the scene.

The 27-year-old died at the scene from gunshot wounds.

His mother, Pamela Humphrey, has issued a heartfelt plea to those who may have information about the person or people responsible for killing her son, as a £10,000 reward was offered by Crimestoppers.

Describing the murder as “senseless” and “tragic”, she said: "We have lived through a terrible year of grief and sadness, having a talented young man with so much to look forward to in life torn from us.

"Every day I miss my son, my family miss him, Oliver's friends miss him, every day we think of him, every day we all grieve for him. Our pain goes on.

"Despite all the efforts by the police, CPS and courts, so far no convictions have been made. We continue to pray that justice will be done and although it will never lessen the loss we feel, it will bring some small comfort to relieve our suffering, our pain, our grieving.

"Please, please help us. Some witnesses have already come forward and we admire them all for their courage. Those who haven't felt able to come forward before, please help yourself; release yourself from the terrible burden you carry.

"With love and hope in our hearts, in memory of our forever loved and always remembered Oliver."

Her plea came as detectives revealed they are on the trail of the deadly Skorpion machine gun involved in the killing after it was smuggled down from Manchester for use in the attack.

Detectives believe the that the firearm was returned back to Manchester on the night of the shooting.

Officers say the weapon fetches between £4,000 and £5,000 on the black market and criminals would have been reluctant to dispose of the weapon.

Question: Where's the money coming from to buy £5,000 worth of machine gun?

'Mistaken ID' Oliver Tetlow murder trial collapses

The Old Bailey trial of two men accused of the murder of a 27-year-old man in north-west London has collapsed.

Mohamed Siamino, 20, of Acton and DJ "CBiz" David Osadebay, 30, of Harrow, were charged with the murder of Oliver Tetlow.

Mr Tetlow was shot dead in Harlesden in March 2016 in a case of mistaken identity.

The jury was told the prosecution was offering no evidence.

Not guilty verdicts were entered on the direction of the judge.

Two other defendants in the same trial - Romarne Young, 22, from Kilburn, and Jahmico Trott, 29, from Manchester - were both acquitted in December last year.

Judge Gerald Gordon said he had come to the conclusion there was not sufficient evidence for the trial to proceed.

Police said Mr Tetlow's death was a "tragic case of mistaken identity".

Mr Tetlow was shot multiple times with what was believed to be an automatic weapon. The firearm was not recovered.

Harlesden drive-by uzi execution happened on notorious gangland estate where Tulisa filmed music video

A drive-by gun execution happened on the notorious gangland estate where Tulisa filmed a music video, it can be revealed.

Oliver Tetlow died after being shot from the window of a blacked-out hatchback on Church Road in Harlesden, North West London, last night.

Witnesses reported hearing up to six bullets being fired in rapid succession at around 10pm.

The victim, understood to be a man in his 20s, died at the scene.

Police confirmed they believe a "high-powered" weapon, rumoured to be an uzi, was used to carry out the killing.

Detectives have launched an investigation into the "shocking" murder amid claims it was sparked by a dispute between two rappers over some stolen jewellery.

It's the latest in a grim act of violence linked to Church End housing estate in the heart of Kilburn, an area among the worst-affected by gun crime in London.

In 2012, Reece James-Menzies - said to be part of the Church Road Soldiers (CRS) gang - was killed with a sawn-off shotgun.

The 21-year-old, also known as Stylie or Stylez, was blasted in the face from point-blank range while visiting a flat in Bournemouth in what police described as a "premeditated attack".

A few months earlier, James-Menzies and the rapper Nines had appeared in a controversial music video made by Tulisa on the estate.

The then-X Factor judge was seen making a 'C' gesture in images which surfaced from the video which is believed to no longer be in circulation.

The singer denied the symbol was a reference to the CRS gang and insisted it was a tribute to her home borough of Camden.

A spokesperson for the singer also added at the time that although James-Menzies had appeared as an extra in her video she had never met him.

And in 2008, Wayne Freckleton, another suspected CRS gang member and the brother of rapper Nines, was killed in a barbershop shooting.

Freckleton was rumoured to be responsible for the deaths of Mohamed Korneh and Selorn Gbesemete, both 21, during an anti-gun crime concert at Southall's Tudor Rose nightclub in December 2002.

Femi Forde, 25, and Richard Osborne, 27, both from Harlesden, were convicted of the murder at the Old Bailey.

They were each jailed for a minimum of 30 years.

2016: London rapper war revealed: Harlesden MC Nines, the Cbiz mugging and the murder of an innocent stranger

London rapper Nines appears to have it all. After bursting on to the UK rap scene in 

2011 with his From Church Road To Hollywood mixtape he became one of the 

UK's most promising RnB stars. Two recordings – Gone till November and Loyal 

to the Soil – followed in 2013 and 2014, earning Nines (whose real name is Courtney Freckleton) a legion of fans and millions of views on YouTube.

After successfully making the transition from underground rapper to the
cusp of mainstream familiarity, the 26-year-old was awarded a
Radio 1Xtra people's choice award in 2013 and was last year nominated
for a Mobo in the best new hip-hop category.
The gongeventually went to Krept and Konan. His latest mixtape, called 
One Foot In,dropped in August last year while his latest single, Yay, is
available on iTunes.

When he's not wearing the colours of his beloved Arsenal FC, Nines 
usually opts for the comfort of an Armani tracksuit. But he also dresses
to 'the nines' on occasion, such as his appearance at a Burberry show
at London Fashion Week where he was alongside friend Tinie Tempah
and met presenter Dermot O'Leary.
At last month's Brit Awards he met TV comedian Leigh Francis, 
aka Keith Lemon.

But the RnB musician's road to stardom has been a bumpy one. 
His brother Wayne Freckleton, who was also known as Zino, was a 
suspected member of the north-west London Church Road gang and was
murdered in 2008 as he waited for his cousin to get his hair cut at at
Ike's Barbershop on Acton Lane in Harlesden.

Nines's star continued to rise and included an appearance in a 
music video alongside pop star and former X-Factor judge 
Tulisa Contostavlos, who was accused of making
a "C" gesture – often repeated by Nines –
in solidarity with Harlesden gang
Church Road Soldiers, also known as Crime Scene Boys. 
The singer later said her "C" represented "Camden", where she is from.

The fun times came to a halt when Nines was sentenced to 18 months' 
imprisonment in 2013 for possession of cannabis with intent to supply.
He sought to stay connected with fans, releasing his prisoner number
and asking them to write to him at Wormwood Scrubs
(reminiscent of Bobby Shmurda in Chi-Raq). Upon his release,
Nines resumed his music career.

Fast forward to 2016 and his name started appearing on social media for 
all the wrong reasons when he was linked to a robbery of a fellow
London rapper.

The connection followed the publication online of a video showing 
Nines with a handful of gold jewellery, including an Audemars Piguet watch 
that was supposedly stolen from South Kilburn rapper Cbiz. It has been
suggested the pair had a rivalry relating to the killing of Nines's brother
Wayne eight years earlier.

Later that day, Nines appeared to want to put an end to suggestions he 
stole the jewellery:

A few hours later, the story took a tragic turn when an innocent bystander, 
later named as Oliver Tetlow, was gunned down in Church Road, Harlesden. 
Tetlow, 27, was killed by a gunman who stepped out of a car and opened fire
with what police believe was an automatic weapon. A Met Police spokesperson
 told IBTimes UK that a rapper feud was one line of enquiry but no charges
have been laid.

Hyde Park Violence 2016: Police release images of five suspects wanted in connection with disorder

Police investigating the stabbing of three people in Hyde Park have released the photos of five suspects they want to identify. 

Three people including a police officer were stabbed in London’s Hyde Park on Tuesday evening after a “water fight” near the Serpentine lake turned violent. 

The London Metropolitan Police said the crowd, which peaked at around 4,000 people, gathered for a largely peaceful water fight as temperatures soared, but as the evening wore on a “significant minority” became hostile towards officers monitoring the scene.

Bottles were thrown at police officers after the mob became violent at around 8:40pm.

The police officer, who was stabbed in the hand, and four colleagues who were injured by bottles were taken to a local hospital for treatment but have since been discharged.

Two members of the public with stab wounds remain in hospital but their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

Scotland Yard said four of the men captured in CCTV footage are believed to have taken part in violent disorder in Hyde Park and the fifth at Marble Arch. 

Met Police Commander Nick Downing said: “We are asking for the public’s help to identify these five men, to give us any information they may have about anyone else who was involved in the disorder last night and, looking ahead, any information about future plans for such disorder.

“A lovely day in the capital turned violent last night after spontaneous events turned nasty and people attacked each other and the police.

“Tonight we’ve increased the number of police officers on duty, and cancelled anymore leave so we keep extra officers out on our streets right through until the weekend.”

The incident was one of several in the city overnight on what was the hottest day of the year so far. 

2017: STAB VICTIM DEATH Father-of-two dies five days after ‘unprovoked’ double-stabbing in trendy London street sparking murder probe

A STABBING victim has died five days after being attacked in a trendy north London street sparking a murder investigation.

Jonathan McPhillips, 28, was one of two people stabbed in Islington’s Upper Street just after midnight on Saturday.

While cops and paramedics treated him, they were alerted to reports a 17-year-old boy had also suffered knife injuries nearby.

The teenager has since been released from hospital but Mr McPhillips, also known as JJ, died earlier today.

It is understood that Mr McPhillips was a father to two young girls, aged two and four.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “A post-mortem examination is scheduled to take place on Friday.

“The second victim, a 17-year-old male youth was also taken to an east London hospital and has since been discharged.

“There have been no arrests at this time and an investigation into the incidents is ongoing.

Friends of Mr McPhillips have expressed their shock on Facebook.

One said: “RIP JJ, forever in our hearts.”

Another said: “RIP JJ cannot believe another stabbing has taken another good person.

“What is this world coming to.”

A family friend said: “It’s very sad to say the least. Grief (and) pain for nothing, leaving two baby girls aged 4/ 2 years.

“Wrong place, wrong time. I’m lost for words, this is the state we’re in and it’s going to get worse.

“This could have been anyone of us.”

2017:Police name woman stabbed to death by brother in Wolverhampton

A woman who was stabbed to death by her brother, who later turned the blade on himself, has been named as Ann-Marie James, the 33-year-old sister of the attacker.

Her mother, 59, is fighting for her life in hospital, West Midlands police said.

Melvin, whose full name has not been given by police, attacked them in a first-floor flat in Merry Hill, Wolverhampton, on Wednesday morning.

Following the confrontation, the 36-year-old died from what were believed to have been self-inflicted wounds, the force said. A postmortem examination found he died from multiple stab wounds, while his sister died as a result of a stab wound to the chest.

Their mother has undergone surgery after being taken to hospital with serious abdominal stab wounds, but remains in a critical condition. 

Armed police used stun grenades to distract the attacker as they stormed the 16-storey block. One officer who responded to reports of the attack at 9.45am received a small knife wound to his arm and another sustained a leg injury. 

Det Insp Warren Hines said: “The family are absolutely devastated at the loss of Ann-Marie and Melvin, two people who were really dear to them. They have asked that their privacy is respected so they are able to grieve at this difficult time. My thoughts remain with the family”

London knife crime 2016: Most stabbings in the capital go unsolved, new figures show

Statistics show that a total of 8,147 violent incidents involving a sharp instrument went “undetected” in the capital last year - nearly 80 per cent of the total 10,238 cases.

The figures also show that the rate of unsolved cases of knife crime has increased by six per cent in the past two years.

Last month Ziggy Worrell-Owusu, 19, from Hackney became the tenth teenager to be stabbed to death in London this year. 

Today Tom Isaac, manager of Oasis Youth Support, a service that offers youth support to victims of violence in the emergency department of St Thomas’s Hospital in Southwark, said young victims were often unwilling to speak to police.

Mr Isaac said: “You think it’s always the obvious thing to tell the police, but it’s often more complicated than that.

"Young people who have been stabbed when they come in here often won’t give full statements or press charges, because they know it could put them in more danger of revenge and retaliation when they leave the hospital. It happens all the time.” 

The figures - obtained by a Freedom of Information request - show the overall number of knife crimes recorded has risen from 9,544 in the 12 months to August 2014 to 10,238 in the same period to 2016, a seven per cent rise.

While the rate of unsolved cases is rising, the number of people being charged has fallen by 4 per cent, from 24.8 per cent of the total in the year to August 2014 to 21.2 per cent in the year to August 2016. 

Young people in Islington, the borough that saw one of the highest number of teenage knife murders in the capital last year, said there is a stigma against speaking to the police about violent crime.

One 17-year-old, from the Barnsbury estate, who declined to be named, said: “Snitches get stitches. You learn it from a young age. 

“It’s a thing people say on the street. You can’t say anything to the police. You’ll lose friends and people will hurt you because you’re one of the police’s snitches.”

Another Islington teenager, age 16, said: “People would rather handle it themselves because of the fear that if you say something you’re going to get stabbed again.” 

Chief Superintendent John Sutherland, a London police officer for 24 years, said there was a common unwillingness among young people to speak to officers.

He said: “My experience is that the more vulnerable the victim of crime is the less likely they will report it to the police. It is certainly the case with violent crime involving young people.

“Often by the time we get to knife crime scenes the people we’d like to have spoken to have disappeared, fearful they might be treated as suspects. Victims and witnesses are also fearful. The most obvious reasons for this are underlying mistrust of police, and fear.”

He described knife crime as “one of the most urgent issues of our time” saying if the victims were the “children of the establishment” it would be a national scandal.

Ch Supt Sutherland added: “Police have got a challenge in terms of building trust. We need to help build trust that might not be there by engaging as much as possible with organisations, local communities and families. ” 

Detective Chief Superintendent Jim Stokley, the head of the Trident gangs unit, said: ”The difficulty is people do not wish to give a statement or engage with police and it is very hard to build a case when there is no other evidence.

“But we urge people to try and support a prosecution because my officers will do everything they can to try and bring an offender to justice. These people will inevitably go on to to stab someone else.

“We have had some successful prosecutions for knife crime when the victim did not support the prosecution.”

He added: “We need to get the message out that it is not the norm to carry a knife and that if you do carry a knife, you or someone with you, are more likely to be stabbed.”

Farmer, 83, cleared over shooting man on his land

An 83-year-old farmer who shot a convicted burglar on his land has been cleared of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Kenneth Hugill, from Wilberfoss, near York, shot Richard Stables injuring him in the foot on 13 November 2015.

Hull Crown Court heard Mr Hugill saw a car drive past his remote farmhouse at around 02:00 GMT which he thought "was up to no good".

Mr Stables, 44, had claimed he had stumbled onto the farm accidentally.

The three-day trial was told how Mr Hugill was woken by a light at his bedroom window at around 02:00 before he got dressed and went outside, with his shotgun, to investigate.

"I walked across what I thought was the front of a vehicle," he said.

"It revved up loudly and drove towards me. It petrified me. I did not see any people. I heard nothing at all."

Mr Hugill, who uses a walking stick and a hearing aid, said he had fired one shot at the side of the vehicle and another into the air.

He had he said not intended to hurt anyone but merely intended to frighten them off.

The jury took 24 minutes to clear him.

Speaking outside the court, Mr Hugill said: "I'm very, very pleased. We thought I shouldn't have been prosecuted right from the start, I didn't feel it was justified at the time.

"I pulled the trigger because I thought that car was going to kill me."

The Crown Prosecution Service has defended its decision to prosecute.

Chief Crown Prosecutor Gerry Wareham said: "We are satisfied that there was sufficient evidence to put the matter before a court and that it was in the public interest to do so."

Mr Hugill's son, David, 50, said Humberside Police took 15 hours to respond to a call he made at 02:23 GMT to report a suspected diesel theft at the farm.

He said the farm had experienced problems with poaching and attempted diesel thefts.

"The police are pushed to the limit and can't cover the countryside, and people have the right to protect their property in the middle of the night when there is no response or back-up," he said.

The court had already heard that Mr Stables, from Bradford, claimed he was out hunting rabbits with a friend, who was driving.

Mr Stables and the driver, Adrian Barron from Oldham, both have convictions for burglary and theft.

Jaguar Land Rover factory BRAWL sees workers sacked or suspended - and two needing hospital treatment

A worker at Jaguar Land Rover ’s Solihull factory has allegedly been sacked and another suspended after an astonishing brawl left a man and woman needing hospital treatment.

The incident began when two men working for sub-contractors at the plant are said to have begun fighting with each other near the assembly line.

Sources claim two women and a man from a different sub-contractor company tried to intervene - but were allegedly attacked as the brawl then escalated.

The man allegedly suffered a head wound after being hit with a drill, while one of the women sustained an arm injury and the other woman was spat at.

At the height of the alleged disorder it is claimed a large number of workers had crowded into the assembly line area at the Lode Lane plant before security guards moved in.

Sources say one worker was sacked and another suspended after the Monday brawl, which took place at 5.30pm.

Yet the two injured people were allegedly not sent to hospital for another THREE HOURS, despite their injuries.

A source said: “The two workers were fighting each other when the man and women tried to step in.

“But the man suffered a head injury after apparently being hit with a drill bit. One woman suffered an arm injury and another was spat at. Threats were also made.

“I was told the two injured people had wanted to go to hospital after the incident but they were not sent for another three hours.”

It is understood the man received hospital treatment for concussion and the woman for an arm injury. They had not returned to work yesterday - but were allegedly told they could not claim it as a sick day.

“They have not even been given the names of the two men who were originally fighting, so they cannot make a complaint to police,” the source said.

“The injured workers were off work on Tuesday, yet they were apparently told they cannot have the day off sick, but as an ‘absence’.”

'Gangbo' Injunctions Over Leeds Criminal Feud.

Seven men involved in a long-running feud that brought fear to the streets of a Leeds community have been hit with the city’s first ‘gangbo’ injunctions.

A total of 94 offences between March 2014 and June 2016 were believed to be linked to the feud, with 87 of those occurring within roughly a square mile of Beeston - the most serious being the attempted murder of a man in a shooting in Middleton Crescent in October 2015.

The catalogue of crimes included ten violent incidents of robbery, assault and kidnap; 30 offences of public order, threats, intimidation and extortion; 24 offences of arson against vehicles and addresses causing more than £200,000 of damage; six drug-related offences where more than £180,000 was recovered; and 22 offences of criminal damage against properties, eight of which saw 4x4 vehicles rammed into the addresses causing more than £100,000 of damage.

In December 2014 and January 2015, officers from the local neighbourhood policing team launched an investigation into a number of vehicle fires in Beeston that were believed to be linked to an ongoing feud between known criminals.

After further ‘tit for tat’ incidents occurred and officers began to build up a clearer picture of the wider circumstances and those involved, the investigation passed to Leeds District Serious Organised Crime Unit to co-ordinate the response.

Specialist detectives from that team began to conduct comprehensive enquiries to develop a detailed understanding of the context of the incidents that had occurred and to link those to the main suspects.

While a number of arrests were made and charges brought in relation to some of the incidents, it became clear that a wider approach was needed to tackle the gang-related actions of those involved.

Steps were taken to build a case for gang injunctions – dubbed ‘gangbos’ - under the Policing and Crime Act 2009. The Act allows the police or local authority to apply to a county court or the High Court for a civil injunction against an individual who has been shown to be involved in gang-related violence or to have encouraged or assisted it.

The scale of the incidents concentrated in such a small area had impacted not just on police resources but on West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, who were consulted for the application along with Leeds City Council and Leeds Housing.

The Police & Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire, Mark Burns-Williamson also lent his support to the application, highlighting how the incidents had impacted on the lives of people in Beeston and on police resources.

In December last year, full injunctions were granted against the seven men at Bradford County Court.

The orders include a number of conditions that place strict limitations on the subjects and can see them arrested for any breaches.

These include a ban from exclusion zones covering the Beeston area; restrictions on who they can associate with; requirements to register their home address and personal mobile phone numbers with the police; restrictions on only driving vehicles registered and insured to them; a ban on carrying any flammable liquid and on using threatening or violent behaviour and wilfully remaining in the company of people engaging in such.

Four of those that are subject of the orders are: Shafaqat Ali, aged 34, of Cross Flatts Avenue, Beeston; Haroon Butt, aged 28, of Cross Flatts Row, Beeston; Kamran Khan, aged 24, of Park View, Beeston; and Zubair Ali, aged 25, of Cross Flatts Avenue, Beeston. Three other men cannot be named due to legal reasons as two are the subject of ongoing court proceedings and another is yet to be served with the full injunction.