While this is not an exhaustive list, here are some of the cases that shocked our readers in 2021.
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1. Liam Wilkinson, left, and Sean Fisher
Two disgruntled thugs who embarked on a revenge arson attack after they were thrown out of a house party during the first lockdown were jailed in March. Sean Fisher, 25, of no fixed abode, and Liam Wilkinson, 30, of Pennine Road, Chorley, posted materials doused in an accelerant through the postbox of a home while three people were still inside, then set fire to it. Wilkinson saw a three-year licence period put on top of his six year and one month jail term while Fisher was jailed for five and a half years.
2. Matthew Dixie
A pub punter was stabbed in the shoulder after his group of friends laughed at a man who stumbled and spilled a drink. Attacker Matthew Dixie, 20, had been involved in another violent incident in a Chorley car park just three weeks earlier, Preston Crown Court was told. He was sentenced to 26 months in a young offender's institution in May.
3. Amos O'Cheng, left, and Dickson Ngaunde
Two Preston nightclub DJs were jailed after a lengthy probe into the grooming, exploitation and rape of vulnerable girls and women ended in May. Amos O'Cheng, 51, of Winckley Square, Preston, was jailed for 24 years with an extended three year licence after being convicted of raping, trafficking and supplying drugs to three girls, and supplying drugs to another girl. Dickson Ngaunde, 27, received 10 years in jail after being convicted of raping a semi conscious 19-year-old woman.
4. William Killeen
A disgraced mental health champion was handed a 13-year jail term in June after jurors found him guilty of a string of sexual offences against young girls dating back more than a decade. William Killeen, 43, of Tudor Avenue, Preston, had denied the allegations but was convicted after a trial at Preston Crown Court.