the Birstall post Y O U R
C O M M U N I T Y
OCTOBER 2009
N E W S P A P E R
www.birstallpost.co.uk
No. 315
Vicious attack TORTURED, BEATEN, tied up and burned – a Birstall man has been jailed for his part in a violent, five hour attack on a 20 year old victim. Paul Sean Bradley (20) of Johnson Road was one of seven men sentenced at Leicester Crown Court: Bradley and co-defendant Jeremy Thorpe (39) were responsible for the worst of the violence, described by Judge Christopher Metcalf as “a ruthless beating that included torture”. The victim was taken to a flat in Narborough Road on October 30, 2008, where he was held captive by seven men. He was punched, kicked and beaten with exercise weights and a pole. Bradley burned the man’s back with an iron and threatened to pull out his teeth. He also set the man’s hair on fire. Thorpe taped a sock into the victim’s mouth to gag his screams and stubbed out cigarettes on his head, neck and bottom, criss-crossed his forehead with a knife or scissors and stabbed his buttock. Bradley and Thorpe branded the victim’s body and face with a hairdryer. Another man, Luke Hill (30) kicked and kneed the victim in the head. Bradley, Thorpe and an unknown man then drove the victim to an isolated spot along Wanlip Lane, Birstall where they told
him he would be buried. Thorpe produced what looked like a knife, prompting the victim to run for his life. He hid in bushes than sought help at the clubhouse of a Birstall football club at about 10.15pm. The man’s five hour ordeal saw him sustain two broken cheek bones, a broken nose, broken ribs and serious burns all over his body. The guilty men, some of whom knew and associated with the victim, believed he had played a part in an assault on three of the defendants – Paul Bradley, Anthony Diglin and Stefan Downing – the previous day. The attack was in retribution for the victim’s perceived involvement. All seven men pleaded guilty at Leicester Crown Court on July 20. Paul Sean Bradley pleaded guilty to Section 18 grievous bodily harm and false imprisonment and was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection and put on life licence for what the judge described as his “major part” in the assault. Bradley was also sentenced for an unrelated grievous bodily harm attack in the city centre two months earlier, when he punched a man unconscious fracturing his cheek. Jeremy Kenneth Thorpe (39) of Briar Road, Thurnby Lodge pleaded guilty to the same offence and received six years and eight months. The remaining five men pleaded guilty to Section 47 actual bodily harm, Luke Hill (30) of Wavetree Drive, Leicester got two years imprisonment, while Anthony Diglin (25) of Narborough Road, Leicester received 18 months. Stefan Downing (24) of Braunstone Avenue, Leicester was given 30 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years, he was issued with a 12-month supervision order and 120 hours unpaid work. Callum Grant (23) of Central Avenue, Wigston was given 30 weeks suspended for two years. He also received 100 hours unpaid work and a threemonth curfew and tag preventing him from
Pic: (l-r) Luke Hill, Callum Grant, Jeremy Thorpe
Pic: (l-r) Stefan Downing, Craig Diglin, Anthony Diglin
Pic: Paul Bradley leaving his house between the hours of 8pm and 8am. Craig Michael Diglin (24) of Sycamore Road, Birstall was given a two year supervision order. Both he and Stefan Downing were also ordered to attend a ‘Thinking Skills’ programme. Detective Superintendent Stuart Prior, who led the investigation, said: “We know that the victim in this case was put through a terrible ordeal by these men and I hope that this result offers him some comfort. The fact that he was assaulted by men that he knew and associated with must have made it even more difficult to come to terms with. I know he’s moved away from his old lifestyle and is trying to rebuild his life and we wish him well in this. Fortunately, crimes such as these are very rare and are usually in similar circumstances with people known to one another
trying to administer their own form of justice. However, as this case demonstrates, you don’t take the law into your own hands, it is for the police to investigate.” The defendants tried hard to
cover their tracks, removing the carpets and the sofa from the flat to destroy any possible forensic evidence. The victim was kept blindfolded on the journey to and from the propContinued on page 2