Lancashire woman jailed for masterminding assault

Nasreen Akhtar, 35, of Spring Street, Accrington was sentenced on Tuesday, September 26 at Preston Crown Court, having previously been found guilty of a section 18 assault.

It follows an incident which occurred at around 11.30pm on July 23rd last year at the rear of Akhtar’s home address, when a 47-year-old man was subjected to a prolonged assault at the hands of a group of five men.

It is believed Akhtar had been the ‘ringleader’ for the attack, not only organising it but watching it from beginning to end.

In the weeks before the attack, Akhtar and the victim had been communicating by text message, which the victim believed was the start of a relationship. However, on July 22 Akhtar asked the victim to cease contact.

It is thought she had become unhappy with the content of their communications.

However, the following day she claimed to have had a change of heart and invited him round to her house. When the victim attended her home address he was set upon in the yard at the back of the property by five unknown men.

As a result of the assault – which went on for around ten minutes – the victim suffered a fractured left cheek, which now requires a metal plate, a dislocated left elbow, a broken nose and several broken teeth. He was in Royal Blackburn Hospital for a week afterwards.

An investigation was launched and Akhtar was arrested on July 24.

The men who carried out the attack have never been located.

DC Lee Richardson, of Blackburn Police, said: “This was a vicious and entirely unprovoked assault carried out against an innocent man, masterminded by someone he simply made the mistake of trusting.

“I am pleased the courts have taken this incident as seriously as we did and have seen fit to hand Akhtar a significant sentence. I hope she uses her time in prison to reflect on the consequences of her actions.

“I also hope the sentencing brings some comfort to the victim and enables him to move forward with his life. He not only suffered terrible injuries, but was later forced to go through the ordeal of a trial, and he has conducted himself with immense courage.

“We have never located the men who carried out the attack and would continue to urge anybody who knows who they are to contact us online, or via 101, quoting crime reference ED1611061.”