These are the faces of 516 Merseyside criminals who were jailed during 2022

The law courts remained as busy as ever last year despite long-running barrister strikes

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As was the case in many fields, 2022 was a turbulent year within the criminal justice system.

Long-running strikes by barristers saw court cases delayed by weeks and even months before the dispute was ultimately resolved. Despite this, there was still plenty of activity in Merseyside's courtrooms.

Whether at Liverpool Crown Court, Liverpool Magistrates' Court, those of Wirral or Sefton or further afield, hundreds of crooks were brought into the dock again last year. And these are the faces of 516 criminals who were led down to the cells after being jailed by judges during 2022.

READ MORE:Encro hack hits heavy drug gangs rooted in Croxteth, Huyton and West Derby

Leon Clark

The paedophile's cover story was busted when police heard the ringtone of the mobile he pretended he'd sold.

The 46-year-old lied that he no longer owned the device that investigators had linked to his Wirral home in June of last year. But officers found the phone behind his radiator, which led to the discovery of 58 images of children being sexually abused.

Clark, of Lingdale Road North in Birkenhead, admitted one count of possessing and three counts of downloading indecent images of children. The predator - previously jailed for sexually assaulting a girl - also admitted breaching a suspended sentence for failing to comply with sex offender requirements and was jailed for 18 months.

Michael McLoughlin

Michael McLoughlin killed aspiring firefighter Duncan Browne in an unprovoked attack over a taxi.

He delivered a fatal "catastrophic injury punch" to the 23-year-old at a taxi rank in Hanover Street in Liverpool city centre. McLoughlin's friend - convicted heroin dealer Terrence Kerwin - first hit the victim, as they tried to get into a black cab ahead of him.

But after McLoughlin knocked out Mr Browne in the early hours of Sunday, July 4, 2021, the "cowards" got in the taxi and went to a party. Mr Browne, from Kirkby, died in hospital next day, surrounded by his family.

McLoughlin, 36, of Torus Road, Old Swan, and Kerwin, 31, of no fixed address, both denied murder and were set to stand trial on January 4. But the Crown Prosecution Service accepted McLoughlin's plea to manslaughter and Kerwin's plea to assault causing actual bodily harm, to the dismay and anger of Duncan's grieving family, who slammed the decision.

McLoughlin - a convicted armed robber - was jailed for nine years and four months, of which he must serve two thirds behind bars. Kerwin was handed 10 months in jail, but had already spent nearly six months in custody, meaning he was immediately released.

Michael Morson

Dog breeder Michael Morson had a special space installed below kennels in his van to stash cocaine and heroin.

He used his business as a cover while involved in a scheme that saw him move a total of 10 kilos of cocaine and four kilos of heroin. Police found Morson with £25,000 in cash, two Rolex watches, designer clothes and 25kg of cannabis when they arrested him in 2021.

A judge said Morson was involved in dealing "on an almost industrial scale". The 32-year-old used the handle "LuckySea" on the encrypted phone network EncroChat.

Morson, of Paxton Road, Huyton, who admitted conspiring to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis, was jailed for eight years and seven months.

Nathan Creighton

Nathan Creighton brandished a 'gun' in a Snapchat video while threatening his former girlfriend.

He told his ex, who the ECHO chose not to name, "I've got this for yous" and also filmed himself saying: "If you think I’m f***ing about." A court was told while it was not known whether the gun was real, his victim was very frightened of the "serial abusive domestic perpetrator".

The yob, who was previously abusive to his ex after their four-month relationship ended, was also violent to police after his arrest in November. Creighton, 28, formerly of Manor Lane, Liscard, Wallasey, admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence and was jailed for 18 months.

Paul Kemp

A paedophile who failed to tell police where he was staying claimed he was sleeping under a hedge and had no idea what day it was.

Paul Kemp was spared jail in November 2021 after offering to pay two 14-year-old boys £20 if he could touch their penises in McDonald's. Kemp, who admitted two counts of attempting to cause a boy to engage in sexual activity, was handed a nine-month suspended prison sentence.

The 64-year-old had to regularly update police of his whereabouts as a result of being on the sex offenders register', but soon went missing. He failed to attend a police station and a probation appointment, before he was found at the Mercure Hotel in Little Sutton, Ellesmere Port on December 3.

Kemp, of no fixed address, admitted breaching notification requirements and his suspended sentence. He was jailed for 12 months in January.

Nicholas Whitcombe

Gym owner Nicholas Whitcombe's drug smuggling plot was busted when police found texts from him telling an associate how to 'clean' dirty cash.

Whitcombe, who was fined for refusing to close his Body Tech Fitness site in Moreton during lockdown, was described by a judge as a "professional drug dealer". His role in the cannabis trafficking and money laundering scheme was exposed through an investigation by Jersey's customs and immigration department.

Whitcombe, 31, from Birkenhead, worked with Jersey-based Anthony Dryden, 31, in a plot valued at more than £54,000, between 2018 and 2019. He sourced the drugs, which were sent to Jersey, collected and sold by Dryden, who then posted the cash back to UK addresses, provided by Whitcombe.

Both men were jailed for three years.

Ian Robinson

Ian Robinson stabbed a man just months before knocking his own ex-girlfriend's tooth out and breaking her cheekbone.

Robinson, 33, and his former partner, Kylie Gaffney, had confronted a mum at their children's school over claims she was spreading rumours. The woman's partner William McIntyre told them to leave her alone, but the two couples came across each other in Poulsom Drive, Bootle.

During an argument Robinson stabbed Mr McIntyre in the chest, inflicting a wound requiring four stitches, and inflicted a small puncture wound to the elbow. While under investigation for that attack, and having split up with Miss Gaffney, Robinson stayed over at the home she shared with their three children.

When she confronted him over texts from another woman, Robinson, of no fixed address but from Netherton, punched and kicked her in the face and head. He admitted two counts of assault causing actual bodily harm and possessing a bladed article and was jailed for three years.

Carl Sullivan

Carl Sullivan threatened to kill his neighbour as he brandished an imitation gun and knife at him after the man parked outside his home.

The 35-year-old, who was high on drink and drugs, began shouting at the innocent driver, Florin Niga, from his window to move his vehicle. When he asked why, Sullivan was insistent, so the victim moved his car to the other side of the street, before Sullivan shouted: "Come in here."

Mr Niga declined but Sullivan said "if you are not going to come then I will kill you" while pointing a gun at the victim's head and holding a knife. The drunken thug pursued the victim into the road with the air pistol and blade, in Suez Street, Warrington, at around 3.30am, on October 9 2021.

Sullivan later admitted possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, possessing a knife and possessing cannabis. He was jailed for 12 months.

Luke Browne

Luke Browne pulled a machete from his trousers when he was refused entry to a nightclub.

The 31-year-old has plagued pubs, bars and nightclubs across Birkenhead with violent and anti-social behaviour. A court heard this has included Browne and gangs of masked youths "intimidating" staff and customers.

He was previously spared jail after he hurled a metal beer keg at the head of Elsa Frost, aka internet personality 'Banter Dancing Queen', at Mr Whites sports bar. But last October 25 the yob - who has 60 previous convictions for a staggering 106 offences - tried to get into Platinum Bar with a machete, at around 2.40am.

Browne, of Paterson Street, Birkenhead, admitted possessing a bladed article and breaching a suspended sentence. He was jailed for two years.

Anthony Lonergan

Taxi driver Anthony Lonergan used private hire vehicles as a cover for cocaine, cannabis and ketamine handovers.

Lonergan traded 76kg of cannabis, 3.8kg of cocaine and 3kg of ketamine between March 2020 and June 2020 alone on EncroChat. But the private hire driver was busted as a result of the EncroChat hack and revealed as the man behind the handle "PalacePuma".

Detectives were able to nail him thanks to other dealers talking about his day job and Lonergan chatting about a holiday he'd booked to Ibiza. Thanks to notes on his phone, they discovered he had actually been trading drugs since November 2019 and selling them on a "graft" phone.

The 25-year-old, of Lewis Walk, Kirkby, admitted conspiracies to supply cocaine, cannabis, cannabis resin and ketamine. He was jailed for nine years and four months.

Charlie Meadows

Charlie Meadows stabbed and battered a taxi driver after trying to avoid paying his fare.

He left his victim John Gunning with stab wounds to his shoulder after the assault on Ennismore Road in Old Swan on June 17 last year. The driver's car was left so badly damaged in the incident, which saw other men damage it, that it had to be written off and he could not work.

In a separate incident, Meadows was involved in trying to get drugs into jails and on one occasion threw a tennis ball full of ecstasy over a prison wall. The 23-year-old was also sentenced for two separate incidents, a week apart in 2019, which saw him smuggle Class A drugs into HMP Berwyn in Wales.

Meadows, of no fixed address, admitted wounding with intent, possessing a bladed weapon and two counts of trying to take Cass A drugs into a prison. He was jailed for six years and three months.

Roman Fletcher

A paedophile referee turned up to children's football matches and started running the line and giving offside decisions.

Roman Fletcher has a history of grooming youngsters and is subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. The 21-year-old, formerly known as Peter Burns, was previously locked up for using his role as a wrestling referee to target victims.

But he then started using his training as a football official to get closer to children - only to be spotted by an eagle-eyed coach. Fletcher, of Halton Road, Runcorn, admitted breaching his SHPO three times by attending games at Orford Jubilee Neighbourhood Hub in Warrington on September 26, October 10 and November 7 last year.

He was jailed for 16 months.

Janine Clough

Janine Clough slashed the manager of a Lidl store when she was caught stealing a trolley full of meat.

The 43-year-old is one of Liverpool's most prolific shoplifters and was once banned from the city centre. A judge said her "staggering" criminal record now features 70 previous convictions for 236 offences.

While high on crack cocaine and armed with a broken coffee jar, she sliced through her victim's uniform, leaving him with three wounds to his back. Clough, of Liverpool Road, Huyton, struck at the Lidl store in Kensington and shoplifted £140 of meat, at around 9pm, on July 24 last year.

She pleaded guilty to theft, possessing an offensive weapon and assault causing actual bodily harm. Clough was jailed for two years and 11 months.

Christopher Halewood

Christopher Halewood punched his ex in the face before hiding under bed sheets when she called the police.

The coked-up bully showed up at the home of his former partner - who the ECHO chose not to name - even though he was banned from doing so. The 39-year-old hit his victim in the face and dragged her around the hallway by her hair, before trying to throw an empty vodka bottle and an iron at her.

A judge labelled the dad-of-four a coward and a bully after hearing the details of the events at the victim's address on July 10 last year. Halewood, of Roseside Drive, Netherley, was found guilty of assault and admitted four counts of breach of a restraining order.

He was jailed for two and a half years.

John Southern

Drug dealer John Southern went by the handle "BigDunc" on the encrypted phone network EncroChat.

The 34-year-old was found to have supplied 3.8kg of cocaine, 76kg of cannabis and 3kg of ketamine between March 2020 and June 2020. However, detectives said evidence showed Southern, from Burscough Street, Ormskirk, had been involved in drug dealing since March 2019.

Southern denied any wrongdoing but was found guilty after a trial of conspiring to supply the drugs. He was jailed for 15 years.

Graham Draper

Merseyside scout leader and former PCSO Graham Draper groomed and sexually abused a 13-year-old girl.

Graham Draper, then 22, sexually abused her multiple times over an 18-month period and told her they would run away together when she was old enough. Draper, now 31, was a volunteer scout leader at a troop in Merseyside and formerly a police community support officer with Merseyside Police.

He groomed the girl online, kissed her at his house after picking her up in his car, then sexually abused her in his vehicle, at various locations. Draper gave her gifts, including money and alcohol, and said he loved her and they would buy a house together.

She went to the police in 2020 and the now dad-of-one confessed when arrested, before he admitted eight sexual offences, including causing a child to watch sexual activity and multiple counts of sexual activity with a child. Draper, of Halifax Crescent, Thornton, was jailed for three years and four months.

Courtney Ireland-Ainsworth

"Poisonous" ex-girlfriend Courtney Ireland-Ainsworth sent herself threats from fake Instagram accounts to get an innocent man locked up.

Courtney Ireland-Ainsworth created up to 30 false profiles, then told police her former partner Louis Jolly was behind "vile" messages. The "cunning" teenager reported him for supposedly threatening to stab her and warning: "She is getting a f***ing blade in her chest."

She made 10 police statements claiming Mr Jolly was harassing and stalking her, leading to him being arrested six times and spending 81 hours in custody, including being remanded overnight, over five months in 2020. He was charged with assault and stalking, hit with a stalking protection order, bailed on a home curfew with an electronic tag, and even lost his job.

Detectives requested data from Instagram's owners Facebook, but the court heard this "took some time to be released to the police". When it finally was released, it revealed the false profiles were in fact linked to Ireland-Ainsworth's own email accounts and IP addresses.

The charges were dropped against Mr Jolly and Ireland-Ainsworth, now 20, of Brackendale, Runcorn, admitted perverting the course of justice. She was locked up for 10 months.

Bradley Hughes

Police found a gun when they raided the home of drug dealer Bradley Hughes.

The 31-year-old used the secret phone network EncroChat, going by the name "TwoTimes", to supply Class A and B drugs between April 2020 and July 2020. Detectives raided his house in Hatfield Gardens, Huyton, on Thursday, July 15 last year, after discovering his identity after EncroChat was hacked.

During the raid, officers found and seized a gun and Class A drugs. He pleaded guilty to drug offences and having a firearm without a certificate and was jailed for 10 years.

Michael Hall

Thief Michael Hall who was brought down by his distinctive stripy socks was banned from every Co-op store in Merseyside.

The 33-year-old repeatedly targeted Co-op stores in 2021 and even cheekily stayed in a hotel to raid two more in North Wales. He waited just two months after getting out of prison to begin his latest crime spree, which involved losses of more than £135,000.

Hall, of no fixed address, climbed onto the roofs of the premises - usually brazenly using a ladder - to break in and scarper with cash and goods. But the drug addict's downfall involved his distinctive socks, which were spotted on CCTV and later found at his home.

Hall, formerly of Mount Pleasant, Waterloo, admitted burgling eight Co-op stores and also a coffee shop, where he stole a charity box. He was jailed for six years.

Grant Pridham

A boy thought he was going to die when Grant Pridham demanded cigarettes and pointed a BB gun at his head.

The deluded thug had earlier been thrown out of a pub in Burtonwood after producing the air pistol and claiming to be an "assassin". The 30-year-old then accosted two teenagers in the street, shortly after midnight, and threatened them with the weapon.

Pridham, of Borron Road in Newton-le-Willows, admitted two counts of possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence. At the time of the offences, on September 4 and 5, 2021, he was on licence after serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for robbing an elderly couple in their Warrington home at knifepoint.

Pridham was jailed for three years and nine months.

Roy Bryers

A dad was "sickened" to discover a paedophile had photographed his daughter through her bedroom window.

Roy Bryers, 49, spied on the child, who was standing at her window while undressed, and took a picture on his mobile phone. The victim and her parents had no idea, until police raided Bryers' home on July 9, 2019 over sick chats he'd taken part in online.

Among his collection of child sex abuse photos, officers recovered the picture of the unsuspecting child. Police found he had been talking about sex with a paedophile hunter, posing as a 12-year-old girl called Izzy, on WhatsApp.

Bryers admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and to cause a child to engage in sexual activity. He also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing and two counts of making indecent images of children.

Bryers, of Castle Walk, Southport, was jailed for three years.

Taylor Johnson

Two teenagers plotted for days how to take advantage of a drunken woman before sexually assaulting a vulnerable victim in a hotel room.

Alex Stormont and Taylor Johnson abused their victim while, in the words of the judge who sentenced them, she was "essentially asleep". Their attack followed days of texts between the pair in which they discussed booking a hotel room and planned how to make the attack possible.

The Wirral men, both aged 19 at the time, struck on a night out in Liverpool city centre in March 2018, bringing a woman who "could barely stand up or walk" back to a room they booked at a Travelodge. Taylor Johnson, 23 and of Edgbaston Way in Bidston, was sentenced to three years and six months for two counts of assault by penetration.

The pair performed sexual acts on the woman when she was incapable of giving consent, before she later reported the attacks. Stormont, now 23, of Woodchurch Road in Oxton, and Johnson, now 23, of Edgbaston Way in Bidston, were both found guilty of two counts of assault by penetration after a trial.

They were jailed for three and a half years each.

Connor Higgins

Three men were jailed for their role in a County Lines drug operation involving a phone number nicknamed "Scouse Mick".

The gang flooded parts of North Wales with heroin and cocaine, which was delivered directly to the homes of their customers. A judge said their exploits would have had "a devastating effect on local communities", feeding addiction and misery.

Ian Heyes, Connor Higgins and James Douglas targeted addicts in Flintshire with their Class A drugs business. It is believed they dealt heroin and cocaine with a value of around £90,000, before North Wales Police brought them down through Operation Blue Annex.

Heyes, 32, from Tuebrook; Higgins, 30, from Litherland; and Douglas, 28, from Woolton; each admitted conspiring to supply crack cocaine and heroin. Heyes was jailed for two years, consecutive to an unrelated sentence he is already serving.

Higgins and Douglas were each jailed for three years and four months.

Jamal Adam-Neale

A 16-year-old shouted "do you want to get sliced up?" before plunging a huge chunk of glass into a dad's stomach.

Jamal Adam-Neale stabbed Steven Cartwright in an alleyway off Scarisbrick Avenue in Southport on August 23 last year. Mr Cartwright required life-saving surgery to remove part of his small bowel after the brutal attack and has been left permanently scarred.

Prosecutors said it wasn't clear what started an argument between a group containing Jamal Adam-Neale and a group containing Mr Cartwright and his friend Steven Johnson. Adam-Neale punched the two men, breaking Mr Cartwright's elbow and injuring Mr Johnson's head, before he ran off and picked up a large piece of glass.

The teenager, of Falkner Street, Liverpool city centre, then stabbed Mr Cartwright once in the stomach and twice in the back, before he fled. Adam-Neale, who admitted wounding with intent and two counts of common assault, was locked up for four years and four months.

Grace Smith

A woman suffocated her own nan with a pillow and dragged her by the hair in a desperate bid to steal her money.

A judge said Grace Smith's attack on Mary Smith, 73, in Anfield last July saw the 20-year-old "suffocate her into submission". It was the culmination of a campaign of theft and harassment against family members, which went on for years.

Smith stole thousands from her nan through credit card fraud and also tried to pawn a ring her mum inherited from her late father. She began stealing from her nan in February 2019, using her credit card details to place more than £500 in food orders.

She then went further, using details of a different card to make just under £3,500 of orders on Amazon, Uber Eats and Netflix. Smith, of no fixed address, admitted offences including robbery, theft, fraud and numerous breaches of a restraining order.

She was jailed for six years and two months.

Dean Colquhoun

Convicted gun thug Dean Colquhoun was found hiding in a garden after escaping a police escort guarding him in hospital.

He helped burgle a home in Lancashire in January 2020, only to be caught by police at the wheel of a £50,000 Audi RS3 taken in the raid just nine days later. Colquhoun was released on bail, before officers raided his home that July and found almost 90g of cannabis, £2,010 in cash, plus designer watches and shoes.

The 26-year-old wasn't present but was spotted in the back of a taxi on October 27, 2020, when he was arrested after a violent struggle and sustained injuries. The crook was taken to hospital for treatment, however, when a police guard took a phone call, he fled to a residential garden, when he was caught again.

Colquhoun, of no fixed address, admitted burglary, possessing cannabis with intent to supply, escape from lawful custody and possessing criminal property. He was jailed for four years and one month.

Michael Lynch

"Rogue trader" Michael Lynch forced an elderly woman to cut down on food and heating bills as he conned her out of nearly £33,000.

Lynch, 38, of Wordsworth Avenue, Widnes, befriended his 75-year-old victim in 2019 and used to tell her she was like "family" and "a second mother". He started charging her for shoddy or non-existent building repairs and got her to stand as a guarantor for a £6,000 loan, purportedly for his business.

Lynch took phone contracts out in her name costing around £7,000 and falsely said he would repay her; used her credit card to withdraw cash and buy items in JD Sports and off licences; and "borrowed" electrical items from her, while claiming he had a £2m building contract lined up. He admitted four counts of fraud and one count of theft and was jailed for three years and seven months.

Joseph Robinson

Joseph Robinson had a bike seat converted to hide a shotgun stashed in his home.

The audacious contraption was recovered after police caught him riding an electric bike while carrying a pistol in Kensington. Officers went to the 22-year-old's home in nearby Hampstead Road after arresting him at around midnight on October 10, 2021.

There they found the adapted bike seat loaded with a shotgun, ammunition, cocaine and cannabis. Robinson admitted possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, possessing ammunition - 9mm rounds - without a certificate, possessing a prohibited firearm, possessing cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply, driving without a licence, and using a vehicle without insurance.

He was jailed for 11 years.

Chelsea Russell

"Out of control" Chelsea Russell waved a knife at a car window while a three-year-old child was sitting behind screaming in fear.

Russell said she "lost her head" when dad-of-three David Law intervened in an argument she was having with her girlfriend. Mr Law and his wife Amy stopped their car when they saw Shauna Aston distressed in Stonebridge Lane, Croxteth, on September 25, 2021.

But when Mr Law prevented Russell from grabbing her partner, the 23-year-old went home and returned with a five to six inch knife. She slashed the blade towards the victim in front of his terrified children - aged three, seven and eight - then attacked their car.

Russell, of Stonedale Crescent, Croxteth, admitted affray, possessing a bladed article in public and criminal damage. She was jailed for 12 months.

Nathan Frazer

Nathan Frazer threatened a couple with a machete and attacked one of them with a hammer in their own home.

The 27-year-old was one of three men who broke into a flat on Whitethroat Walk in Birchwood, Warrington, on Friday, December 3, 2021. The balaclava-clad men attacked one of the victims with a hammer and also threatened the couple with a machete, then fled with a handful of computer games.

But detectives found CCTV footage of Frazer with his balaclava lifted as he was smoking a cigarette and waving a hammer just moments before the incident. They also recovered text messages in which he admitted committing the burglary and he later pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary.

Frazer was jailed for seven years and a half years.

Wesley Kavanagh

Wesley Kavanagh was caught after messages from an EncroChat device activated after the network had already been hacked.

The drug dealer had picked up a phone enabled with the software from a side street in Oldham in a £1,400 deal in May 2020. By that time the system had already been compromised by an international operation that allowed texts to be obtained by police.

Kavanagh, 36, sourced his EncroChat-enabled phone through his friend Lee Taylor, with whom he dealt cocaine and cannabis. Taylor, 34, was already trading under the handle MuscialSalmon and Kavanagh started using the name MysticBlade.

Texts showed the Warrington dealers used an adulterant nicknamed 'marshmallow' to bulk up cocaine before flogging it to customers. Kavanagh, of Stockport Road in Thelwall, and Taylor, of Longshaw Street in Dallam, both admitted conspiring to supply Class A and B drugs, said to be at least six kilos of cocaine and at least nine kilos of cannabis.

They were both jailed for 12 years.

Joshua McLaughlan

Joshua McLaughlan viciously attacked a student while photographing or filming the helpless victim.

The 26-year-old repeatedly punched Joshua Ormrod in the head and body, before coming back to attack him for a second and third time. The thug left his victim lying unconscious in the middle of Fleet Street in Liverpool City Centre at around 4.30am on June 17, 2021.

But the IT network engineer - captured on CCTV cameras - was detained by nearby door staff, while other security staff gave first aid. McLaughlan, of Hawkshead Drive, Bolton, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm.

He was jailed for 16 months.

Michael Smith

Michael Smith "looked like a zombie" as he smashed through a mum's front door with an axe before pulling her arm onto the broken glass.

Catherine McLoughlin suffered cuts to her arm when Smith struck at her Walton home last November, as part of a wider incident when he also smashed up her sister's house and even his own car. Ms McLoughlin told police that Smith - her sister Donna Payne's ex partner - "looked like a character from The Walking Dead" in the drunken attack on November 20, 2021.

Smith, 36, of Avis Walk, Fazakerley, admitted wounding, possessing a bladed article in public and two counts of criminal damage. He was jailed for 16 months.

Edward Mullins

Alcoholic Edward Mullins threatened to stab his housemates and repeatedly hurled homophobic insults.

Police were twice called to the address in Belle Vale - once by Mullins himself - on August 22 last year. After police arrived for the second time, he made other offensive remarks to one of the arresting officers.

Mullins, 47, now of no fixed address, admitted affray over the incident. He was jailed for 20 months.

Craig Ford

Craig Ford was caught trying to break into a home on a Ring doorbell and tried to flee the scene on a little girl's pink bike.

The 28-year-old convicted burglar struck at a property in Capricorn Crescent, Huyton, at around 2.40am on January 20 this year. But his victim was woken by the doorbell and saw Ford fiddling with the front door lock, so ran downstairs and chased him away.

Ford, who was accompanied by another man hiding behind a nearby car, jumped on the bike to flee, but then abandoned it and ran off. The burglar, of no fixed address, admitted attempted burglary.

Ford was jailed for two years.

Michael and Peter Moogan

Two brothers once named among the UK's 'most wanted' ran a drug dealing operation busted by happy birthday messages.

Michael and Peter Moogan shared an EncroChat handle "PaleFlame" but were caught out in part by a flurry of congratulations on Peter's big day. The convicted gun crooks, from Huyton, were linked to the dealing of eight kilos of cocaine and one kilo of cannabis, plus nearly £90,000 in dirty cash.

Michael also admitted affray, relating to threats over alleged missing cash made to his partner's sister in August 2020, which caused her to flee Huyton. The court heard the two men both have previous convictions for guns, when they fled to Spain to try and evade justice.

Michael, 33, of Boundary Road, and Peter, 39, of Salerno Drive, admitted conspiring to supply cocaine and cannabis. They were each jailed for 11 years and three months.

Thomas Broadhurst

Thomas Broadhurst killed his friend of 20 years Thomas Edmunds after targeting him in a brutal gang robbery.

Broadhurst put Mr Edmunds in a fatal chokehold as Terence Bennett, Kevin Nethercote and Kevin Condliffe helped rob the victim's cash. The drunken gang were caught on recordings talking about their plan to violently attack Mr Edmunds, and even celebrated after they left him for dead.

The men struck at the house the 36-year-old victim shared with his father Alan Edmunds, in Clorain Road, Kirkby, at around 10pm on May 9 last year. Bennett waited outside in the car while Broadhurst, Nethercote and Condliffe knocked on the front door, before they were let in by Mr Edmunds senior.

Broadhurst and Condliffe attacked the victim, with Broadhurst putting him in a "chicken hold", and Condliffe stealing cash he had saved from his job as a labourer. The group then fled in a car, blowing the money on alcohol and drugs, before the victim died in hospital the following day, after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Broadhurst, 32, of Regal Road, Croxteth, was jailed for 10 years and eight months after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and conspiracy to rob. Bennett, 34, of Sovereign Hey; Nethercote, 48, of Regal Road; and Condliffe, 17, of Carr Lane East; all in Croxteth, were locked up for eight years, nine years and four months, and five years respectively, after they all admitted conspiracy to rob.

Michael Hoy aka Michael Brown

A murderer released early from a life sentence became a cocaine dealer trying to trade in guns and grenades.

Michael Brown changed his name and went into landscaping work in an apparent bid to escape his shocking past. He was one of two doormen who stabbed to death innocent Colin McGinty after mistaking the 21-year-old for a gangland rival.

In 2001, he was sentenced to life with a recommended minimum term of 18 years, after his victim was stabbed 15 times on a Bootle street. However, Brown was released in 2017 after serving just 16 years behind bars, changed his name to Michael Hoy, and got an EncroChat phone.

He used the codename TimelyBeta and worked with Patrick Murray - aka WeirdGun - to try and broker deals for grenades and guns, including AK47s and Uzis. Phillip Moran - Murray's uncle - whose handle was KeptHawk, was also linked to their gun plot, while all three men were involved in drug dealing.

Murray, 25, of Gloucester Road, Huyton, admitted conspiring to possess explosives; to possess, purchase or acquire prohibited firearms and ammunition; and to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis. He was jailed for life with a minimum of five and a half years for the explosives and guns charges, and a further 11 and a half years for his drug offences.

Hoy, 42, of Cranford Road, Garston, was found guilty of those offences after a trial, plus conspiring to supply ketamine and amphetamine. He was jailed for life with a minimum of six years for the explosive and gun offences, plus an additional 14 years for the drugs crimes.

Moran, 51, of Alder Road in Newton-le-Willows, was found guilty of conspiring to possess, purchase or acquire prohibited firearms and ammunition; and to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis. He was jailed for 12 years.

Lauren Walsh

No one will ever know why a woman stabbed her best friend 18 times for no apparent reason.

Lauren Walsh, 22, repeatedly knifed young mum Kelsey Gielinck after accusing her of killing her nan - who is still alive. When the attack was interrupted by Miss Gielinck's boyfriend, Wesley Pemberton, Walsh also stabbed him three times.

Walsh had previously stolen Miss Gielinck's debit card, which was flagged to the victim by her bank, when her friend used it in a shopping spree at Home Bargains and Tesco. Later on that same day, Walsh went to her friend's home in Old Swan, seemingly to console her about the fact her debit card had been taken.

Miss Gielinck suffered wounds to her face, chest, body, stomach and hands, while Mr Pemberton was stabbed in the chest, back and one hand. Walsh, of Packenham Road, West Derby, admitted theft and two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

However, she was found guilty after a trial of two counts of attempted murder. She was jailed for life with a minimum of 14 years and eight months behind bars.

Lee Cunliffe

A "despicable" rapist who forced his victim to go through her ordeal again in court was handed a lengthy jail sentence.

Lee Cunliffe, 37, appeared before Liverpool Crown Court to be sentenced on charges including three counts of rape, two counts of assault by penetration and false imprisonment. After denying the charges, Cunliffe was found guilty following a trial and sentenced to 17 years in prison, plus five on extended licence.

Danny Hanley

Nine members of an organised gang were jailed after a police sting into drugs and firearms trafficking.

The group sold large amounts of cocaine and heroin throughout Merseyside and on the south coast of England but were caught as a result of police operation named ‘Casino’. Prosecutors said Daniel Hanley relied on Eric McKevitt, Kevin Cooney, Paul Hoban and Liam Morris to assist him in obtaining and storing cocaine, heroin and cannabis.

Hoban's father Paul Wright also assisted in moving drugs after being asked by his son, while Mason Si and Jodie Gill, who are from Liverpool originally, would pick up drugs from Hanley and sell them close to where they lived in Eastbourne in Sussex. All eight were jailed for a total of 56 years after an investigation which went on for more than a 12 months.

As well as the drugs offences, Hanley, McKevitt, Hoban and Wright were all found guilty of firearms offences linked to a shotgun found by police in Wright's house and a silencer found at McKevitt's mother's home address. Hanley, 30, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A controlled drugs heroin and cocaine and conspiracy to possess firearms and was sentenced to 13 years.

Hoban, 27, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A controlled drugs heroin and cocaine and conspiracy to possess firearms and was sentenced to 11 years. McKevitt, 41, of Hazeldale Road, Walton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A controlled drugs (heroin and cocaine) and conspiracy to possess firearms and was sentenced to five years eight months.

Morris, 26, of Lindisfarne Drive, West Derby, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply Class A controlled drugs (heroin and cocaine) and was sentenced to five years nine months. Wright, 56, of Thursby Crescent, Southdene, Kirkby, pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of heroin and possession of a firearm and was sentenced to eight years two months.

Cooney, 47, of Muirhead Avenue, West Derby, pleaded guilty to supply Class A controlled drugs (cocaine) and was sentenced to five years eight months. Jodie Gill, 37, of Leslie Street, Eastbourne, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and was sentenced to three years four months.

Mason Si Gill, 47, of Leslie Street, Eastbourne, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply cocaine and was sentenced to four years three months. Paul McEwan, 30, of Dwerryhouse Lane, Norris Green, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to supply heroin and was sentenced at an earlier hearing to four years in prison.

Thomas Davies

Two county lines drug dealers were caught after being stopped with 5.5kg of heroin in a car.

Officers pulled over the dealers on Cullen Street, in Toxteth and found drugs with a street value of £220,000 to £330,000 in September 2021. Thomas Davies, 27, and Siyabonga Konze, 30 years, both from South Wales were busted by detectives on Project Medusa, an investigation into County Lines drug dealing.

Davies was jailed for 10 years and two months after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin. Konze was sentenced to seven years and two months for the same offences.

Keith Russell

A professional burglar hit 88 homes while being employed by a gang that stole cars with a combined value of £2.6m.

Keith Russell was paid wages to break into properties to steal BMWs and Audis, some of which were sold on to other criminals. He used one of the stolen vehicles to carry out an armed robbery in which a Post Office worker was threatened with a crowbar.

Russell was part of a gang known to have been behind 160 thefts across Merseyside, Cheshire and Lancashire. He was locked up for his exploits alongside fellow burglar Paul Wharton.

Russell, who had already served a three year sentence for some of the burglaries linked to the gang, was sentenced to a further four years and six months for the conspiracies to burgle and steal. He was handed three years and six months for the robbery, to run consecutively.

This means he was handed a total sentenced of eight years. Wharton was sentenced to seven years and three months.

Stephen Frail

A pregnant mum was attacked in her own home by a violent ex-partner.

Stephen Frail, 35, called at the home of the victim, his former partner, at around 8.30pm on October 28, 2020. Liverpool Crown Court was told Frail and his victim had been seeing each other casually since November 2019 and the victim was five months pregnant at the time of the attack.

The court was told he has five previous convictions for nine offences including common assault on a woman in August 2013 and breaching a non-molestation order in April 2016 for which he was sentenced to eight weeks imprisonment. As well as battery and drug offences he was jailed for 18 months for three assaults and a common assault, all against women, in August 2016.

Frail, of Simonswood Lane, Northwood, Kirkby, pleaded guilty to common assault. He was jailed for five months and made the subject of a 10 year restraining order to keep away from his victim.

Ben Duffy

A thug sped through residential roads before trying to drive the wrong way up the M57.

Ben Duffy was out on licence from a previous dangerous driving conviction when he went on a reckless rampage around Merseyside last October. He went through red lights, travelled the wrong way up roads and drove at 70 miles per hour in a 40 zone during his 20-minute high speed chase.

The 29-year-old was only stopped when a police officer rammed his car as it was about to drive the wrong way on to the M57. Duffy, of Wigan Road, Leigh, was jailed for 16 months, with credit given for his guilty plea.

He was also disqualified from driving for three years.

Michael Laffey

A burglar stole designer watches, bikes, cans of Coca Cola and loose change in a spree lasting weeks.

Michael Laffey counted a gym, a solicitor's office, and a pub among his targets during a series of burglaries and thefts around Liverpool city centre last year. Liverpool Crown Court heard the offences took place across September, October and November, with the 25-year-old targeting properties in the vicinity of Dale Street, Tithebarn Street and Crosshall Street.

He was eventually caught after numerous sightings on CCTV and was also recorded entering an apartment building on Crosshall Street to burgle one of the flats there. That was by far his biggest target, with Laffey taking close to £20,000 worth of goods.

Laffey, of Crosshall Street, Liverpool, was jailed for a total of three years and eight months after pleading guilty to multiple counts of theft and burglary and one count of attempted burglary.

Elsa Frost

A TikTok celebrity threw paint at reality TV star Chelsey Harwood's house as a feud escalated between the pair.

Elsa Frost amassed thousands of views as "Banter Queen" but was jailed after sending a series of abusive messages to Ms Harwood, who first rose to fame on TV show Desperate Scousewives. Sefton Magistrates' Court heard Frost posted a series of offensive videos on her TikTok account between January 1 and February 23 last year.

The pair had been involved in an escalating feud over an extended period, with both posting videos criticising each other. Ms Harwood is transgender and in a number of the videos, which have now been removed, 39-year-old Frost used transphobic language towards her.

The court heard she also went round to an address where Harwood lived and threw paint at the door. Frost, of Whitefield Close in Woodchurch, Wirral, was jailed for a total of 18 weeks.

Kieron Gill

A drug addict repeatedly kicked a vulnerable pensioner in the face as he abused his victim to fund his habit.

Kieron Gill left David Bell cowering under a blanket on the sofa of his own Anfield flat - an address that had been taken over by crack cocaine users. When arrested the bully revealed his abuse extended to marching his victim to a cash point.

Gill was locked up after admitting the robbery of Mr Bell, who is in his 70s, just before Christmas 2020. The 31 year old was sentenced to five years and three months in jail.

Alex Boston

A stalker bombarded TV star Steph Davis with cards and flowers as part of a sustained crusade of harassment.

Alex Boston began messaging the star on Instagram during the first coronavirus lockdown but his behaviour soon escalated. The 43-year-old, from Moreton, soon started turning up at her home and leaving presents for former Hollyoaks actress Ms Davis, leaving her so worried she moved out to live with a family member.

She later said she didn't feel secure at home and that "her safe haven had been violated". Boston, of Lyons Road, was jailed for 28 weeks on Friday.

Ian Watson

A 59-year-old man planned to travel to Cheshire to have sex with a nine-year-old boy,

Ian Watson, 56, of Churchfields in St Helens, started speaking to another adult online to make arrangements to meet a nine-year-old boy in Cheshire with the intention of engaging in sexual activity. But Watson didn't know that he had actually been speaking to officers from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.

On March 30, 2020 he was arrested at his home address and appeared in Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, January 28 charged with child sexual offences. A judge sentenced him to five years in prison after he was found guilty of arranging and facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence.

Kirk Davies

Kirk Davies rammed into a taxi, dragged his ex-girlfriend out, forced her into a stolen car and then beat her during a police chase.

The 19-year-old followed the taxi, after spotting his former partner and her friends inside, in the early hours of September 5 last year. The yob forced the taxi off the road in a stolen car on false number plates, then drove into it in Fazakerley, forcing the driver to stop.

Davies, of Middle Way, Croxteth, forced his ex into his car, and reached speeds of up to 100mph as she "feared for her life". He repeatedly punched her to the head, pulled her hair and bit her, before threatening to hit her with a hammer.

The teen was spotted by police and chased down Longmoor Lane until he crashed into a wall, then drove off. Davies, who admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and dangerous driving, was locked up for 22 months.

James Birch

Taxi driver James Birch organised cocaine and heroin trafficking in the Netherlands after deciding lockdown measures made it too risky to operate in the UK.

But the 35-year-old was still caught out by police, after messages detailing his criminal activity were found on the hacked EncroChat secret messaging service. Birch was said to have used the handle "OctoBourne" throughout 2020 while working as a private hire taxi driver and organising for the transport of Class A drugs.

EncroChat messages revealed he considered it too "risky", but he then facilitated the supply of up to 20 kilos of heroin from one associate in Holland to another. Police raided his home in Brookbridge Road, Tuebrook on December 15, 2021 and seized five mobile phones.

Birch admitted money laundering and assisting or inducing the commission of an offence abroad. He was jailed for six years.

David Houghton

David Houghton burgled a hospital and a football club.

He struck at Vauxhall Motors in Ellesmere Port and entered the referee's changing room while a match was in progress. The 56-year-old, from Ellesmere Port, stole a bag which contained £20 cash and a mobile phone on December 19, 2021, before another raid.

He broke into a village hall in Capenhurst Lane - the same road he lived on - and took two hoovers worth around £170, plus other items. On January 6, he was challenged by the owner of a van in Tarvin after he was seen trying to gain access to it.

Houghton returned to Vauxhall Motors on January 22 and stole bottles of vodka and whiskey. A day later he struck at Ellesmere Port Hospital, where he stole cash, coffee, tea bags and sugar.

Houghton, who admitted four counts of burglary and one count of vehicle interference, was jailed for 12 months.

Kaisaar Mahmood

A mum-of-two was stalked by "obsessed" work colleague Kaisaar Mahmood who created "disturbing" fantasies about her.

The victim, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, was in a happy long term relationship with her partner of 15 years. But "delusional" Mahmood accused her of "sexually harassing him" and "leading him on", despite the fact she had no romantic interest in him whatsoever.

The 44-year-old chemical engineer involved other colleagues in his frightening "obsession", falsely telling them the woman was being abused by her boyfriend and even that she was going blind. Mahmood, of Fenham Drive, Penketh, Warrington, who admitted stalking between May 2019 and March 2021, had two previous convictions for harassment, in 2005 and 2010, both relating to a woman he perceived as his girlfriend.

He was jailed for 13 months.

Dean McHale

Dean McHale broke into a Liverpool home and stole a mobile phone and bank cards.

The 39-year-old, of no fixed address, entered a home in Vandyke Street in Toxteth on June 9 last year. His crime spree carried on when he was found to be handling stolen items from a home in Halkyn Avenue, Sefton Park, including laptops, mobile phone and more bank cards.

McHale admitted burglary, fraud and handling stolen goods. He was jailed for three years.

Robert Brazendale

A gangland middle-man handed over weapons three times in less than 24 hours as he played a key role in a prolific gun supply network.

Robert Brazendale delivered an AK-47 assault rifle to one buyer, machine guns to a second, and delivered another AK-47 in a third deal on April 15, 2020. The former electrician, 34, turned EncroChat user, also hid guns and ammunition in the back garden of his bungalow in Selworthy Drive, Warrington.

Prosecutors branded Brazendale a "quartermaster" and "essential cog in a machine running guns to other serious organised crime groups". When raids uncovered some of the guns, he was among those questioned - but he then fled to Spain, sparking an international manhunt.

That ended in Estepona, Malaga, in October 2020 where he was arrested by the National Crime Agency and Spanish National Police. Brazendale, who admitted conspiring to transfer prohibited firearms, was jailed for 11 years and three months.

Liam Wallace-Clark

Liam Wallace-Clark battered his ex-girlfriend while she was holding their baby in her arms.

The career criminal had only met his 13-month-old daughter for the first time that day because he had been in prison. But he repeatedly punched his former partner in the face, after she tried to call police due to his intimidating behaviour.

The 33-year-old then "cornered" her on a couch and said: "If you're sending me to jail I might as well kill you." He attacked the woman, who the ECHO chose not to name, at her Southport home, on Wednesday, October 7, 2020.

Wallace-Clark, of Wulfstan Street, London, but from Whitefield, Bury, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm against his ex-partner, common assault against her friend who tried to intervene to stop him, and breach of bail. He was jailed for 59 weeks in total - around 13 and a half months.

Christopher Welsh

Christopher Welsh smashed a broken wine bottle into a woman's face after he took a cocktail of drink and drugs.

Security officer Christopher Welsh befriended a group of students who lived at a flat in Rumford Place in Liverpool city centre. He was at the property the students shared when he took cannabis and also a sleeping pill, plus copious amounts of alcohol.

But in the early hours of the morning on August 23, 2020, he inexplicably attacked one of the women, hitting Anna Chapel over the head with a wine bottle with such force it broke, before he attacked her with the neck of the broken bottle, inflicting permanent facial scars. Welsh, 41, of Marina Drive, Upton, Chester, admitted unlawful wounding and common assault.

He was jailed for two years.

Edward Warde

Edward Warde stole more than £10,000 of cigarettes in a spree across more than 20 shops by distracting staff then fleeing in a getaway car on false plates.

But detectives traced the 35-year-old to his address in Warrington Road in Runcorn using automatic number plate recognition data and CCTV footage. Warde's spree lasted from September 29 to October 26 last year, when he targeted 24 shops around Cheshire, stealing £11,733 of tobacco products in total.

During one incident in Winsford, Warde also assaulted a shop worker who tried to stop him from fleeing. He was jailed for three years.

John Newton

A girl tried to kill herself after she was twice raped by unrepentant paedophile John Newton.

He attacked his victim when she was aged between nine and 11 in historic sex offences that have now come to light. The 56-year-old, of Wood Street, Birkenhead, also made the child perform sex acts on him and watch pornography.

Newton denied any wrongdoing, which forced the now adult woman to give evidence in a harrowing trial. But the delivery driver was unanimously found guilty of nine sexual offences and a judge said he was "in denial".

Newton was found guilty of two counts of rape of a child under 13, three counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, and both causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and causing a child to watch sexual activity. He was jailed for 12 years with an extended one year on licence.

Thomas Brown

Thomas Brown who vowed "to make St Helens proud" before stabbing a man in the neck was found guilty of murder.

The drug addict turned his bedroom into a bloodbath when he knifed 33-year-old Lee Andrew in his right jugular vein. Andrew fled as he ran across the road to a YMCA reception in a forlorn bid to get help, at around 11pm, on August 2 last year.

Career criminal Brown was seen to "nonchalantly" walk away - his hands covered in blood - as his victim was dying in the street. After he was arrested on August 3, the 42-year-old, of North Road, told police: "The beast got dealt with and it was self-defence."

He suggested Andrew was bullying him and "came at him" with a knife, so he grabbed a second knife to defend himself. Brown even claimed "more should have been done" for Andrew and questioned why YMCA staff on night duty didn't provide first aid.

But a jury took just two hours of deliberation to unanimously find him guilty of murder, after a six-day trial. Brown was jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years.

Anthony McDonald

Anthony McDonald was caught in a hotel after breaking in and ransacking an office.

He was busted after grabbing wine and a cash box from Hotel Indigo in Liverpool city centre on November 16 last year. McDonald and an accomplice were found behind the bar of the Chapel Street hotel by night staff, at around 1.30am.

They were challenged, leading to a scuffle in which 40-year-old career criminal McDonald suffered a head injury. The drug addict, of no fixed address, admitted burglary and possessing cannabis.

He was jailed for two years.

Dean McCarthy

Dean McCarthy hired nearly £29,000 of equipment on his company account, only for it to vanish.

The 32-year-old serial liar, of Nicholas Road, Widnes, exploited his role as an account manager at Runcorn fire safety firm Abbey Fire. After he was hired in July 2020, he told bosses his girlfriend had suddenly died, then claimed his car was stolen.

He was given the use of a company car, fitted with a tracker, then in November said he'd had a mild heart attack overnight. His boss could see his car was on the move, when McCarthy claimed to be in a hospital bed, and then uncovered his scam.

McCarthy admitted nine counts of fraud by false representation and was jailed for 21 months.

Patrick Downey

A convicted child sex attacker who keeps downloading indecent images of children was branded "dangerous".

Patrick Downey, 40, has been in and out of jail for the last two decades because of his twisted perversion. Last year police caught him with 426 sick photos, including one of a boy aged just four being raped.

Police raided Downey's home in Peel Road, Bootle on May 13 last year, uncovering the disturbing stash. He was jailed for two years, with an extended four years on licence.

Liam Traynor

Cocaine-fuelled Liam Traynor went round to an apparent stranger's flat and beat him with a wooden bat.

The 36-year-old also drank heavily before attacking Mark Cummins in his home in Huyton in the early hours of Wednesday, December 5, 2019. Traynor later said he could not remember anything about what led to the savage attack on Mr Cummins with two other men at Knowsley Heights.

Mr Cummins suffered two wounds to his head and injuries to his head and arm. Traynor, of Nyland Road, Huyton, admitted wounding with intent.

He was jailed for six years.

Stephen Skelhorne

Betting shop raider Stephen Skelhorne threatened to stab a customer if a cashier didn't fill up his bag with cash.

The 37-year-old travelled to four different betting shops in one day in an attempt to get money to feed his drug habit. On February 7, he was also involved in an aggravated burglary in Widnes when he was again armed with a knife and stole a 43-inch TV.

Skelhorne, of no fixed address, but formerly of Pennard Avenue, Huyton, has 44 previous convictions for 78 offences. The crook admitted 10 offences involving attempted robbery, possessing a knife, aggravated burglary and going equipped with a knife to steal.

He was jailed for three years, with an extended three years on licence.

William Farrell

William Farrell went on a rampage at McDonald's then attacked and racially abused hospital staff.

The 28-year-old spat at his girlfriend Hayley Burrows at the McDonald's in Kensington in the early hours of March 23, 2021. After she hid behind the counter, he kicked a hand sanitiser, grabbed a wet floor sign and threw it at the counter, then smashed a £50 plant pot.

He was arrested and taken into custody, but was unresponsive, so was taken to hospital, where while being restrained he tried to punch Dr Alicia Waite. The thug then racially abused security guards Maria Haynes-Garcia and Jacqueline Cabungan, who tried to help police restrain him.

Farrell, of no fixed address but formerly of Old Swan, admitted criminal damage, assault by beating of an emergency worker, and two counts of racially aggravated threatening behaviour. He is already serving a two and a half year sentence for two attempted burglaries and handling stolen goods.

He was jailed for 11 months.

Neil Badrock

Neil Badrock murdered his own dad in a "ferocious, brutal and totally unforgiving" street attack.

Badrock, 28, admitted manslaughter over the five-minute street attack on 51-year-old Neil Farrington. Witnesses described him "volleying" his dad and shouting "I will f***ing kill you" as he repeatedly kicked him in Kirkby Row in Kirkby.

The attack only ended when police arrived and found Badrock still kicking his dad in the head, while shouting: "What do you think about that?"

Badrock accepted headbutting Mr Farrington to the ground, then punching and kicking him, because he was "angry", but said he never intended to kill or seriously harm his victim, on May 17 last year. But a jury unanimously found him guilty of murder after six hours and 20 minutes of deliberation, following a four-day trial.

Badrock, of Kenbury Close, Kirkby, was jailed for life with a minimum of 19 years.

Gregorz Ewiak

A mum and her children hid in a locked bathroom while her ex-boyfriend "smeared" blood over their home.

Gregorz Ewiak and another intruder smashed through a living room window into his former partner Paulina Dziekan's house. When the terrifying ordeal was over, he sent her a text "threatening to have the children taken off her and her killed".

Ewiak, 34, of Neasham Road, Dagenham, London, carried out the raid at Miss Dziekan's home in Birchwood, Warrington, on October 21 last year. He admitted burglary with intent to cause damage and criminal damage, after a charge of making threats to kill was dropped by the crown.

Ewiak was jailed for two years and four months.

Athanasios Konstantinidis

Athanasios Konstantinidis tried to hide his phone in a freezer to stop police finding dozens of videos of children being raped.

The paedophile had already been caught with child abuse images once in June 2019 but a judge had spared him jail on that occasion. Yet instead of abiding by rules aimed at stopping him offending again, the 57-year-old bought a new phone the following year and began downloading hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse.

When police arrived at his home in Ashdown Close, Southport on October 28, 2020, to carry out a search, he was caught out trying to hide the phone. Konstantinidis admitted possessing, making and distributing indecent images of children and numerous counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

He was jailed for two years and eight months.

Steven Dennett

The driver of a convertible BMW had paint stripper thrown in his eye while sitting in his car with the roof down.

Steven Dennett hurled the fluid, which went into James Halligan's face, in a "terrifying" attack outside the victim's parents' home. The "industrial strength" Paramose paint stripper - not available to the general public - was in a tin "marked with a skull and crossbones".

When it hit Mr Halligan he "screamed" and the victim said his eyes and face were "burning", while a neighbour saw the car's leather seats "bubbling". A judge said "mercifully" Mr Halligan didn't suffer "dreadful" injuries, as he jailed Dennett for 20 months for the "cowardly" attack on July 21 last year.

Dennett, 40, of Adamson Close, Latchford, Warrington, admitted criminal damage and assault causing actual bodily harm. He was found not guilty of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

George Heath

George Heath attacked a mental health support worker with a lamp stand.

The 24-year-old repeatedly hit his victim in the head in a "sustained" attack at his Wirral home. The man suffered three cuts to his head and some bruising to the rear of his head and now has PTSD.

Heath, of no fixed address, but from Wirral, admitted wounding and possessing a bladed article. He was jailed for 20 months.

Wayne O'Keefe

Wayne O'Keefe who previously attacked his 90-year-old nan was banned from seeing her for a seventh time.

Shortly before last Christmas, the alcoholic was taken to hospital suffering from a cold and the hospital contacted his nan to see if he could go there as he had nowhere else to go. She explained because of a court order she could not do that, but he later rang her and when he assured her he was sober, she agreed he could stay with her in Dovecot.

But at about 4.30am on December 21, she rang 999 "in some distress and fear" and the operator could hear O’Keefe in the background shouting aggressively. The 49-year-old, of no fixed address, admitted breaching a restraining order and was jailed for five months.

Alin Cobzaru

Alin Cobzaru sexually abused a teenage girl after plying her with cocaine and vodka.

The 27-year-old crawled Southport's streets in an Audi late at night, offering children "drugs in return for sex". The married dad-of-two targeted a 15-year-old girl, who he took to a party, where he molested her, one night in 2020.

Cobzaru, of Scarisbrick Street, Southport, denied any sexual contact with his victim. He denied two counts of rape and two counts of assault by penetration, which forced his victim to give evidence.

The first trial collapsed because of coronavirus issues and the second trial resulted in a hung jury. Ahead of a third trial, Cobzaru admitted four offences of sexual activity with a child, which the Crown accepted.

He was jailed for seven years and eight months.

John Powell

A dad caught with heroin and cocaine valued at up to £400,000 said he was "blackmailed" by gangsters when he tried to stop dealing.

John Powell claimed he started helping his bosses supply the drugs in Merseyside and to Devon to pay off a near £40,000 cocaine debt. But prosecutors said the 49-year-old was also benefiting financially from the arrangement - as shown by his daughter texting him asking for £3,000 to pay for a holiday to Marbella and designer gear.

Police raided Powell's home in Station Road, Roby on October 13 last year, when they found around five and a half kilos of heroin, and around 800g of cocaine. He admitted possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply on a basis of plea, which was accepted by prosecutors.

Powell was jailed for six and a half years.

Steven Etchells

Steven Etchells and Luke Swift said they broke into St Helens' tallest building to see the Christmas lights across the town.

The crooks were found carrying state of the art Dyson fans down an NHS corridor in the old Pilkington site on Christmas Eve. They were then hit with incapacitant spray after refusing to stop adding to their haul of stolen goods, despite the requests of a police officer.

Etchells and Swift broke into the old Pilkington site on Alexandra Park in the early hours of December 24 last year. Both men admitted burglary, while Etchells also admitted driving offences after crashing into a bus stop in Thatto Heath on September 6, 2020.

Etchells, 50, of Ellison Drive, St Helens, had 41 previous convictions for 101 offences including 49 thefts. He was jailed for 94 weeks - nearly 22 months. Swift, 29, also of Ellison Drive, had 12 previous convictions for 17 offences. He was jailed for 10 months.

Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones used his injured dog to lure a woman back to his house and sexually assault her.

The drugged up boxing coach and gym manager attacked the woman in Birkenhead last summer after seeing her in the street and asking her to help his pug, which he said had been hit by a car. He then convinced her to come to his house to call a vet but as soon as she was there he pinned her to the couch, tore off her clothes and sexually assaulted her.

The 47-year-old later barricaded a female police officer who came to the woman's rescue into his living room, threatened to kill her and ripped her body cam off and threw it out a window. Jones, of Borough Road, Birkenhead, admitted sexual assault, assault by penetration, false imprisonment and threats to kill.

He was jailed for 16 years with a further eight years on extended licence.

Jamie Smith

Jamie Smith told a supposed teenage girl: "I want to be the man who teaches you everything you need to know about sex."

The 44-year-old, who even called himself a "nonce pedo" in his profile bio online, targeted underage girls on chat forums. The online predator thought he was talking to a 14-year-old child when he discussed performing a sex act on her and meeting up.

Smith, of Halliday Close, Birchwood, Warrington, sent her a photo of his penis and joked that what he was doing was "grooming a minor LOL". But he was actually talking to a decoy profile set up by paedophile hunters and it emerged they had snared him with another fake girl, aged 13.

Smith admitted attempting to meet a child following grooming and two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child. He was jailed for two years and three months.

Rachel Ward

Rachel Ward stole more than £9,000 from her employer by faking refund payments to customers.

The mum-of-two "betrayed" the trust of her bosses at Irish Ferries by issuing bogus refunds to customers and transferring the money into her own bank accounts. The 47-year-old, who was previously spared jail for stealing £23,000 from her last employers, tried to blame blackmailers for her latest bout of dishonesty.

Ward told a judge she had been named and shamed on a Wirral Facebook page about stealing £23,000, which led to men coming to her home and demanding cash, leaving her in fear of violence. She claimed she initially gave them money from her state benefits, before taking cash from Irish Ferries to pay them off, but a judge rejected her account.

Ward, of Bray Street, Birkenhead, admitted fraud by abuse of position and was jailed for two years.

Adam Jarir

The boss of a County Lines drugs gang known as "Biggie" flooded streets with heroin and crack cocaine.

Adam Jarir, from Walton, was part of a gang which brought Class A drugs to Wigan, leading to estimated sales exceeding £800,000. The 29-year-old took over people's homes in the borough to store, prepare and distribute Class A drugs, in a method known as cuckooing.

Jarir was one of the group's leaders alongside Jake Muldoon, 23, of Lowerson Crescent, Norris Green, who was also known as "Scouse Joe". Muldoon was locked up for 15 and a half years in December, when he was sentenced for conspiring to supply Class A drugs and stabbing one of the gang in the head, after the victim 'lost' £5,000 of drugs.

Jarir, of Kingsland Crescent, admitted the drugs plots and was jailed for six and a half years.

Jem Traynor

Jem Traynor downloaded more than 1,000 child sex abuse images including one labelled "paedo archive".

He claimed he didn't have a sexual interest in children, despite police finding the vile collection on his computer. Officers raided the 51-year-old's house in Ember Crescent, Everton in April last year and found a vast array of sick files, including 167 child rape images.

The former soldier, who said he wouldn't have downloaded the files deliberately, blamed his PTSD from serving in Bosnia and abusing drugs and alcohol. But evidence showed he'd taken steps to cover his tracks and he later admitted three counts of downloading and one of possessing indecent images of children.

He was jailed for 12 months.

Gary Kelly

A pair of fraudsters pretended to be Netflix, Spotify and Apple to steal millions of people's details and sell them on for profit.

Gary Kelly and Craig Gorton used phishing emails to target subscribers of popular websites between 2017 and 2019. They impersonated the companies and redirected people to enter details on a bogus website, harvesting names, addresses and telephone numbers.

It is estimated the crooks earned more than £140,000 in cryptocurrency by then auctioning off these details on website called Mirashop. But this came to an end when their homes were raided by the Dark Web Operations Team of the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.

Kelly, 32, of Caldy Road, Orrell Park, was jailed for three years and four months. Gorton, 30, of Rochdale Old Road, Bury, was handed two years in prison, suspended for two years.

Christopher Longworth

Sacked employee Christopher Longworth told his former boss he would "chop his head off" and trash his premises after a row over holiday pay.

The 34-year-old had been employed by Speke Fencing and Gates and his vandalism rampage caused £15,000 of damage and put jobs at risk. The dad-of-two had been fired on May 28 last year and after leaving the company, made a series of telephone calls to his former boss, Michael Lynch.

In one, Longworth, of Lincoln Street, Garston, said: "I want my holiday payments. If I don't get them I’ll come down and chop your head off and cut your throat."

On July 30, he broke into the business premises in Edwards Lane, Speke, threw paint over a van and smashed its windscreen, left taps running causing flooding, and caused further damage in the office. Longworth admitted harassment and burglary.

He was jailed for 16 months.

Kieren McMahon

EncroChat drug dealer and money man Kieren McMahon counted and stored huge amounts of cash.

On one occasion McMahon, aka "LimeAce", was holding up to £280,000 as part of a huge drug gang. Police recovered more than 100 pages of chat logs before arresting McMahon when he flew into Manchester Airport from Amsterdam.

McMahon, of Titchfield Street, Kirkdale, admitted conspiring to supply Class A drugs and cannabis, between September 2019 and August 2021. He was "the money man" in relation to at least 20 kilos of the Class A drugs, mainly cocaine, and not less than 50 kilos of cannabis.

McMahon also admitted being involved in dealing with 15 kilos of the cannabis. He was jailed for 12 years and seven months.

Lee Roberts

Banned biker Lee Roberts who goes by the name "Joker" tried to flee from police officers by mounting the pavement.

The 40-year-old was charged with dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance after officers tried to speak to him as he rode a Kawasaki motorbike on Underwood Lane in Crewe on Tuesday, February 8 this year, but he continued on his way. The rider, of Thorn Road, Runcorn, who has been banned from the road since 2001, admitted the charges.

He was jailed for six months.

Gary Towns

"Controlling" Gary Towns moved into his ex-girlfriend's home after being banned from going near her for the eighth time.

The 65-year-old threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend if she went out after breaching his five-year restraining order against her. He had been living at her home for five months despite the ban, which was imposed at the time he was last jailed, and while he was on licence.

Towns was jailed for 12 months in March 2021 for the seventh breach of his restraining order, but when released he had nowhere to go so went back to her again. He was arrested at her home in Widnes on January 14 and later admitted breaching a restraining order.

Towns, of Millar Crescent, Widnes, was jailed for 16 months.

Liam Jones

Liam Jones who threatened to rape a female prison officer – and her mother and daughter – had his prison sentence extended.

The 23-year-old flew into a rage at HMP Grampian in Peterhead, Scotland, when he was asked to pack his belongings and move to a different cell. He subjected the officer to a "sustained period" of "vile" comments and threats, then boiled a kettle and threatened to scald anyone who tried to enter his cell.

Jones, formerly of Brainerd Street, Stoneycroft, also said he would rape the female prison officer, her mother and her daughter, in the rant on February 9, 2021. The thug said he would be released soon and would wait outside for her and blow up her car before trashing his cell and causing hundreds of pounds of damage.

Jones - currently serving a three-year jail term for drug dealing as part of a gang in Aberdeen - admitted threatening behaviour. He received a further nine months in prison.

Vincent Connolly

A dad's web of lies were exposed when CCTV footage found by his victim's grandad was played in court.

Vincent Connolly, 59, repeatedly punched a neighbour's boyfriend, then called police and claimed he was the one who had been attacked. He maintained his lies at his victim's trial - only for damning CCTV to emerge, meaning he was later convicted of perverting the course of justice. In October 14, 2019, Ellis Shead had rowed with his girlfriend at her home in Aurorean Close, Belle Vale, and when he thought he saw Connolly's partner watching, insulted her.

On October 16 he went out to some shops, but was attacked by Connolly when he returned, who inflicted a series of punches. Shortly afterwards, Shead used a golf club to smash the rear window of Connolly's car.

Connolly called police and said Shead had done that while he was sitting in the car, and that he had got out and hit him in self-defence. Shead was charged with criminal damage and assault. He admitted the former, but was acquitted of the latter at trial and spared prison.

Connolly, of Aurorean Close, Belle Vale, was jailed for 16 months.

Jason Whinnett

Jason Whinnett bit his ex-partner and beat her brother with a rubber mallet in a vicious attack.

He drank brandy and smoked cannabis before going to the home of his partner's brother and attacking them both. The 51-year-old also smashed up a coffee table and a TV during his inexplicable attack, on January 17 this year.

Whinnett, of Westmorland Drive, Liverpool city centre, admitted assault and criminal damage. He was jailed for 12 months.

Alan Kent

"Predatory" child abuser Alan Kent was found guilty of molesting two young girls after offering to pay them "for sexual favours".

The 73-year-old, of Humphreys Close, Murdishaw, Runcorn, was initially accused of a range of offences by one victim, before a second victim came forward. Thirteen counts related to sexual assaults of a child under 13 and incitement against the same girl while she was between the ages of about six and 10.

A trial heard one charge of attempted sexual assault related to the second victim, who was aged between about 10 and 12 years. Kent was jailed for seven years.

Liam Rogan

Liam Rogan, 32, of no fixed address, was found guilty of possession of a revolver and transfer of a revolver. He pleaded guilty to possession of a submachine gun. He was jailed for 11 years and three months.

A violent thug exploited his autistic brother by having him keep a submachine gun in his family's home.

Liam Rogan and his "partner in crime" Ryan Kennedy were on remand in prison over the brutal kidnap of a 17-year-old boy. But they had arranged for Liam's younger brother, Jake Rogan, to stash a Heckler & Koch MP5 at the house he shared with his girlfriend and baby daughter.

Police found the submachine gun with three magazines, one loaded, in a raid at the young family's home in Patmos Close, Everton, on February 15, 2020. Just days after that gun was seized by police, Liam Rogan and Kennedy used a mobile phone hidden in their cell to order the transfer of an Italian revolver.

They contacted crooks including William Egan, John Wells and Anthony McVey, before police found the gun at a house in Beryl Walk, Fazakerley on February 25. Liam Rogan, 32, of no fixed address, admitted possessing the Heckler and Koch and was found guilty of possessing the revolver and arranging its transfer.

Kennedy, 28, of Westmoreland Place, Everton, was found guilty of those three offences. Rogan was jailed for 11 years and three months.

Kennedy was jailed for 13 years. Egan, of Tenlands Drive, Prescot, admitted possessing the revolver and possessing cannabis with intent to supply.

He was jailed for six years .Wells, of no fixed address, was found guilty of possessing the revolver and arranging its transfer.

McVey, of Worcester Drive, Clubmoor, was found guilty of possessing the revolver. Both of them also fell to be sentenced for a "terrifying" aggravated burglary in Stafford in 2020.

Wells was jailed for six years for the gun offences, consecutive to nine years with an extended four years on licence for the burglary. McVey was jailed for five years for his gun offence, consecutive to eight years with an extended four years on licence for the burglary.

James Whitehead

A gang of burglars raided a family home and stole sentimental heirlooms in a £20,000 raid.

Dylan Hyams, Kevan Walsh and Jack Whitehead drove a stolen van on false plates to Skipton in Yorkshire last November. They smashed their way into their victim's home, then ransacked the address, before making off with jewellery.

A white van was stolen from outside the house, along with work tools belonging to the victim. All three men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle.

Dylan Hyams, 29, of Leadenhall Close in Everton, was jailed for four years. Kevan Walsh, 32, of Simonswood Road in Kirkby, was jailed for four years.

James Whitehead, 28, of Barncroft Road in Halewood, admitted his guilt at a later stage. He was jailed for four and half years.

Laura Gibson

Laura Gibson targeted a vulnerable man in his own home and stole his money.

On more than one occasion, she stole cash and a bank card from a man at his house in Rodney Street, Birkenhead. The 35-year-old, of Sidney Street, Birkenhead, was arrested and admitted carrying out three burglaries in October 2021.

Police said the victim was left "very distressed" by her despicable actions. She was jailed for three years and two months.

Anthony Atherton

Starbucks staff were terrified after Anthony Atherton smashed his way through a drive-thru window with a hammer.

The thug, of Sapphire Road in Old Swan, turned up to the coffee shop on Edge Lane, smashed the window and climbed through it. The 37-year-old then grabbed hold of two of the women workers and dragged them around by their clothing and hair.

He demanded access to the safe but the only person able to open it, the manager, escaped and ran for help. Atherton, who fled empty-handed, at around 7am on October 17 last year, was later arrested and admitted attempted robbery.

He was jailed for four and a half years, with an extended three and a half years on licence.

Dean Hall

Idiotic thief Dean Hall posted pictures of himself posing on stolen motorbikes on Instagram.

The 26-year-old, of Albert Road, Widnes, was shown sitting on a Ducati, Triumph Speed and SYM scooter, all of which had been pilfered in Runcorn. Cheshire Police said the bikes in the social media snaps, posted from July 2021 to January 2022, were worth more than £25,000.

Officers linked the account to Hall and arrested him at his home on Friday, January 28 this year. He admitted theft of a motor vehicle and two counts of handling stolen goods.

Hall was jailed for 52 weeks.

Craig Treverrow

Craig Treverrow and David Gamble laughed as they left a man for dead after a knife attack outside his own front door.

The brothers fled after attacking John Smith in Dingle, leaving him bleeding heavily, on February 27, 2019. Treverrow was confronted shortly after the incident by Robert Hughes, a relative of the victim's partner, and said: "I have just done your man."

When questioned, the drink and drug fuelled yob pulled out a knife, became angry and lunged at the man's partner, then fled and hid until police arrived. Gamble, who had repeatedly struck Mr Smith with a plank of wood before his brother knifed him three times in the back, later handed himself in.

Treverrow, 31, of Dovecot Place, Dovecot, admitted wounding and threatening with a bladed article. He was jailed for three years. Gamble, 25, also of Dovecot Place, pleaded guilty to wounding. He was jailed for two years.

Alan Airey

Paedophile Alan Airey formed a relationship with a mum of two young children without telling her about his twisted past.

He met the woman via Facebook after his release in April last year, following a four and a half year sentence for child sexual assault and grooming. The 37-year-old used a false surname and began staying over with the woman, her children and a young teenage girl, who also shared the Merseyside house.

Prosecutors said the woman was "shocked and concerned" to learn of his past, but Airey claimed she was visiting him in prison to bring in his underwear and they were still "in a relationship". Airey, of Halkyn Road, Chester, admitted breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

He was jailed for two years.

Alexander Porter

Alexander Porter hit a shop worker in the face before stealing £6,000 in cash.

The crook left an innocent member of staff with an eye injury when he targeted the News Factor Shop in Bootle on January 10 this year. The 42-year-old raided the shop on The Esplanade then fled on a bike, but was arrested later that month after being identified by police.

Porter, of Bedford Road, Bootle, admitted robbery. He was jailed for three years.

Francis Casey

Francis Casey told the mum of his 10-month-old daughter: "I'm coming to your house to burn it down with the baby in it."

The 30-year-old threatened to "smack in" the heads of his ex-girlfriend and their baby in vile voicemails. The alcoholic blamed stalking her and sending abusive messages on a three-month drink and drugs bender.

But a judge said he was trying to "minimise" what he had done to his victim, who was left "petrified", in December and January. Casey, of no fixed address, admitted stalking involving fear of violence and breaching a sentence of 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months.

He was jailed for 22 months.

Dean Joughin

Dean Joughin was caught stoned at the wheel but escaped from police after he was arrested.

The thug once gave another man permanent brain damage by kicking and stamping on his head. Joughin, then 25 and from Netherton, was jailed for six years over that vicious street attack in 2009.

Police stopped a Volkswagen Passat, on Southport Road in Bootle, at around 8.15pm on Friday, October 15 last year. Joughin tested positive for cannabis but fled while being cautioned, only to hand himself in four days later.

The 37-year-old, of Warbreck Avenue, Walton, admitted escaping from lawful custody. He was jailed for four months.

Daniel Hayes

Daniel Hayes threatened a group of children as he brandished a knife at a terrified shop worker.

The 31-year-old first raided a Spar in Thomas Jones Way, Runcorn on the night of July 10 last year. He then hit a Spar in Palacefields, Runcorn, the day after and a One Stop Shop in Chester Road in Helsby on July 12.

Hayes, of Clifton Crescent, Frodsham, was dropped off each time by Sam Oultran, 24, of Churchill Mansions, Runcorn, in a getaway car. He would then approach the till, pull out a large kitchen knife from a bag and threaten staff to open the tills before making off with cash.

Outside he would jump in the Volkswagen Passat driven by Oultran. It was at the Spar in Palacefields where he told a female cashier "put it all in the bag" then warned "just do it or you or the kids will get it". Hayes admitted three counts of robbery and three counts of possessing a bladed article. He was jailed for six years.

Oultran admitted three counts of robbery and was jailed for four years.

John Bishop

John Bishop hid his dark past from a new girlfriend by lying about what he had been to prison for.

The paedophile moved into her Wirral home and gave her one of two mobile phones he had bought. The 47-year-old was present when she had family over for Christmas, including a nine-year-old child.

Bishop told his new partner he was under supervision after being jailed for assaulting a police officer. The woman only found out the truth when police realised Bishop wasn't living at his registered address in Waterpark Road, Prenton.

He admitted four counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with the requirements of the sex offenders register.

Bishop was jailed for two years and eight months.

Patrick Childs

Patrick Childs fled to Spain after trying to avoid the police by jumping into the Leeds-Liverpool Canal.

The 24-year-old drug dealer finally appeared for sentence for offences dating back to 2018 and 2019. They included doing "wheelies" on a pavement while riding an electric bike on Scotland Road at 30mph.

He "smirked and rode off at speed", and was later seen dealing drugs from the bike to known addicts. Childs was caught after ditching the bike and diving into the canal, where he dumped plastic bags with traces of cocaine and heroin inside.

Having been released under investigation and on bail - despite £27,000 of cocaine being found at his home - Childs disappeared abroad, only to be extradited. Childs, of Lyle Street, Kirkdale, admitted failing to provide a specimen, dangerous driving, possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to supply and breach of bail.

He was jailed for six and a half years.

Adrian Tomcik

Domestic abuser Adrian Tomcik threatened to kill his girlfriend.

The 29-year-old, from St Helens, admitted two counts of assault and two counts of making threats to kill. The charges related to offences carried out by the bully at his home in Windle Hall Drive on January 20 and 21 this year.

He was jailed for four years.

Peter Ginley

A member of a large criminal network worked to flood the streets with Class A and B drugs.

Peter Ginley tried to escape detection by using an encrypted EncroChat phone and the handle "CrabCookie". Cash and cocaine worth £120,000 was seized after he and another crook were both arrested in July 2020.

Ginley, 33, could be linked to the handle "CrabCookie" through personal details he shared in messages. He was arrested at his home in Heath Road, Garston, where police found more than £13,200 in cash and the box for his Encro device.

Ginley was found guilty of conspiring to supply cocaine, heroin, cannabis and ketamine after a trial. He was jailed for seven and a half years.

Richard Green

Richard Green raped a young child during horrifying and depraved sexual abuse.

The 35-year-old, from the Tuebrook area, was accused of a string of sexual offences. But he denied any wrongdoing, forcing his victim to go through the ordeal of a trial.

Green was found guilty by a jury of 15 counts including rape of a child under 13, assault by penetration, sexual assault and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He was jailed for 19 years.

James Freeman

Shocking CCTV footage showed James Freeman and Alan Roberts shooting each other with the same gun.

Freeman armed himself with a loaded pistol and hunted down Roberts outside the Old Bank Pub in Page Moss. The two men wrestled over the weapon in a doorway, when it went off, with two bullet fragments striking Roberts in the groin.

But the "victim" grabbed the gun and with Freeman now "overpowered" and lying on the floor being kicked by two locals, opened fire in "retribution". He fired twice into Freeman's chest at "point blank range", leaving his attacker with two bullets embedded in his chest at the Princess Drive pub.

Roberts, 30, was cleared of attempted murder, but a jury rejected his claim that he acted in self-defence against an "assassin", on Monday, May 17 last year. He was convicted of wounding with intent and possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life - charges Freeman, 24, admitted before the trial began.

Freeman, of Pennard Avenue, Huyton, who was already a convicted gun crook, was jailed for 14 and a half years, with an extended four years on licence. Roberts, from Page Moss but now of Heyes Street, Everton, was jailed for 12 years.

Leonard Wood

Leonard Wood raped a child nearly 40 times during abuse lasting more than a decade.

When the now adult woman went to police to report her ordeal, Wood claimed she instigated his "vile" attacks. He denied any sexual activity between them when she was underage and claimed any sexual contact after that was consensual.

But a search of his home revealed camcorder cassettes hidden in the loft - including one that appeared to have been destroyed. And when a detective managed to repair the old cassette, it showed Wood had filmed himself raping and molesting the child.

Wood, 67, of Bark Road, Litherland, claimed the activity was consensual and admitted only two offences - counts of making indecent photographs of a child - claiming the videos were of her when she was aged 16 or 17. But evidence showed she was in fact under 16 at the time and he was found guilty of 11 counts of rape and three counts of indecent assault.

Wood was jailed for 24 years with an extended one year on licence.

John Chean

EncroChat dealer John Chean traded luxury cars for hauls of drugs in cocaine and amphetamine plots.

Chean and fellow crook Remez Caffrey navigated the underworlds of Liverpool and Manchester under the shared codename "FrostJacket". Messages suggested they were also behind a raid on a rival gang's drug den.

Chean and Caffrey exchanged messages with other EncroChat handles, buying around two and a half kilos of cocaine with a street value of around £100,000 in one deal. They also sourced 61kg of amphetamine, thought to have a street value of around £61,000, and 44kg of cannabis, said to be worth some £264,000.

Chean, 34, of Thirlmere Walk, Kirkby, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and amphetamines. He was jailed for six years. Caffrey, 24, of Chelston Avenue, New Moston, Manchester, admitted conspiracies to supply cannabis, cocaine and amphetamine, conspiracy to import cannabis, and money laundering.

He was jailed for 11 years and three months.

Benny Lundquvist

Paedophile Benny Lundquvist who suffered a stroke before he was extradited to the UK moaned about his treatment in British prisons.

The 65-year-old, from Sweden, molested a little girl in sexual abuse in Merseyside that had a "devastating impact" on the victim. But while she was left contemplating suicide, he returned to his native country and carried on with his life like nothing had ever happened.

In late 2020, the pervert suffered a stroke, just months before he was dragged back to Merseyside to face justice for his sick crimes. Appearing for sentence, he had the gall to complain about prison healthcare not being of the same standard he received in a rehabilitation centre back home.

He was found guilty of three counts of indecent assault and one count of indecency with a child. Lundquvist, of Blockflöjtstigen, Kungsängen, Sweden, was jailed for eight years.

Anthony Ballard

A victim living in fear of her violent and controlling partner Anthony Ballard managed to escape his clutches by using a domestic abuse code word.

The frightened woman went into Boots pharmacy in Bootle and asked for "Ani" which staff knew meant she needed help and they took her into a back room. Police were contacted and her abuser, Ballard, eventually admitted controlling and coercive behaviour and assault causing actual bodily harm.

Ballard, 30, of Marsh Lane, Bootle, who abused the woman in 2021, was on licence at the time for a six-year sentence for conspiring to commit burglaries. He was jailed for two years.

Paul Otty

Paul Otty waved a machete at a pregnant woman while his partner Christina Evans stood guard in a terrifying robbery.

Otty threatened the worker in an off licence of Rocky Lane in Tuebrook less than an hour after doing a similar thing at another shop on Lower Breck Road. He and Evans were stopped during that robbery by a shop worker and only managed to steal a bottle of brandy rather than the cash they were hoping for.

In the second raid they made off with a mobile phone. Masked Otty, 38, spearheaded the robberies on May 14 last year, while Evans, 43, supported him by keeping a look out.

Evans, of Scotland Road, admitted robbery and provided crucial evidence to the court identifying Otty as a fellow perpetrator, who then also pleaded guilty. She was jailed for three years.

Otty, also of Scorton Road, was jailed for seven years.

Lee McGuiness

Lee McGuiness glassed a stranger in a nightclub then was seen "laughing" and "joking" in McDonalds.

The 21-year-old attacked Jake Hopwood, 18, who he accused of filming him on a mobile phone, at The Establishment in Wigan. Mr Hopwood was filming the club because it was permanently closing the next day, but McGuiness knocked the phone out of his hand.

Despite Mr Hopwood explaining he wasn't filming McGuiness, the yob smashed a glass into the side of his head, on New Year's Eve in 2019. The victim suffered a 3cm cut to the back of his left ear, a 5cm tear to that side of his head, and has been left with a permanent lump.

McGuiness, 21, of Rivenmill Place, Widnes, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on the basis of recklessness. He was jailed for 15 months.

Kevin Marshall

Kevin Marshall split his girlfriend's head open with a glass ashtray and jug before washing the blood from her hair.

The 33-year-old had told his victim "I may as well do you in, I'll only get seven years" before leaving her covered in blood in a cowardly attack. A judge slammed him for his lack of empathy after he told a probation officer: "It weren't like she were bleeding out and asking for help, I carried on hitting her."

Marshall and the woman, who the ECHO chose not to name, had been in an "on/off" relationship for about two years, before the attack at her home in St Helens on January 6 this year. She needed five stitches to a cut to the top of her head, four stitches for a cut to her left ear, butterfly stitches to her nose and treatment for a broken left collarbone and scratched eye.

Marshall, of no fixed address, admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He was jailed for five years and three months, with an extended three years on licence.

Shaun Rimmer

Hit and run driver Shaun Rimmer killed a dad-of-three then drove away with a bloodstained and shattered windscreen.

The 28-year-old was driving a stolen Seat Leon through Aberdeen at high speeds while being chased by police. As he fled at around 50mph in a 30mph zone, Rimmer, from Liverpool, hit Simon Musabayana, 48, as he crossed a road.

Rimmer sped off then abandoned the Seat Leon, which was stolen from a home in Cheshire, 12 days before the crash. Mental health nurse Mr Musabayana, who suffered catastrophic injuries on August 16, 2021, died in hospital 26 days later.

Career criminal Rimmer went on the run and was later arrested in Liverpool. He admitted causing death by dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and driving without insurance.

Rimmer was jailed for eight years.

John Davies

John Davies who got a job at Network Rail after being released from prison blew it all by breaking his girlfriend's eye socket.

He has a shocking history of violence which led to him receiving an indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) in 2010. The crook was then jailed for 18 years for possessing a handgun and supplying and conspiring to supply cocaine when sentenced in 2011.

The 46-year-old, of Fishers Lane, Pensby, was released in October 2020 and said he was "determined to lead a law-abiding lifestyle". But his partner rang 999 from her bathroom and whispered: "I've been badly beaten up by my partner.

"He's coming up the stairs. He's going to kill me."

He admitted wounding over the attack on Adele Bradshaw at her Wirral home on January 30 this year. Davies, who has been recalled to prison on his IPP, was jailed for 16 months.

Shaun Brownlee

Shaun Brownlee armed with a snapped pool cue and kitchen knife tried to set fire to a home in a drunken revenge attack.

The 36-year-old wielded the weapons as he broke into a flat block and "hammered" on the door of his target on November 8 last year. He then attempted to set a fire outside the address, failed and returned an hour later, only to fail again, at Stanley Street in Southport.

Prosecutors said he was targeting a man named Thomas Moreland, but the court did not hear the background to their dispute. Brownlee, of Bath Street in Southport, admitted aggravated burglary, arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, two counts of possessing an offensive weapon and arson.

He was jailed for four years.

Jack Roberts

Two burglars who drunkenly ransacked a British Heart Foundation shop said they didn't realise it was a charity store.

Jack Roberts and Gary Dutton burgled a phone repair shop in Old Swan on October 10 last year, taking devices worth £2,500 and cash. They then raided the charity shop on West Derby Road on November 18, when they stole £1,336 from the till and damaged the building.

Roberts, 27, also targeted a children's nursery alone on September 29, before he carried out the two raids with 41-year-old Dutton. He caused thousands of pounds in damage by breaking into the nursery, before taking just under £150 of goods.

Roberts, of Judges Drive, Tuebrook, was jailed for two years and three months. A judge said sending dad-of-three Dutton to prison would make his children homeless.

Dutton, of Darmond Road, Kirkby, was handed 16 months in jail, suspended for two years.

Ryan Campbell

Ryan Campbell sent a woman's family intimate photos of her and edited a newspaper article to make it look like she was a paedophile.

The computer hacker was previously jailed for 20 months in September 2020 for making three young girls' lives a misery.

They included a child aged 12 or 13, after she refused to send him naked pictures; a 16-year-old ex-partner, who he told to kill herself; and a 15-year-old victim, who he tormented by pretending to be her alleged rapist. Campbell was 17 at the time he targeted his youngest victim.

Within days of being released from prison, he sent a friend request on Snapchat to his latest victim, a young woman who the ECHO has chosen not to name, in October 2021. Campbell, 22, of Smith Road, Kirkdale, admitted computer hacking, harassment and disclosing private sexual photographs.

He was jailed for two years.

Michael Hailwood

EncroChat drug dealer Michael Hailwood embedded himself in the international underworld.

He operated under the codename "CardinalTrunk" as he sought to peddle huge quantities of cocaine, but a police sting revealed his links to a network of more than two dozen drugs suppliers, couriers and street runners. Hailwood - who boasted connections from Europe to South America - offered his global contact list as a way to regain a foothold within the North West gangland, after he was released from a jail sentence for drug offences in 2019.

Messages revealed the 51-year-old discussed the supply of cocaine and a trading network that stretched to Scotland and Hull. Hailwood, once based in Amsterdam and previously of Cherry Tree Road in Huyton, admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was jailed for 16 years.

Kevin Wall

Kevin Wall battered one motorcyclist before revving his engine and driving over another biker's leg.

The dad was going to see his heavily pregnant wife when he got stuck behind two motorbikes in Hanover Street in Liverpool city centre. When Ethan Lawless stalled in front of him, the 41-year-old got out of the car and punched the motorcyclist multiple times in the head.

Then, while trying to drive away, he hit the second biker Greg Simpson, who rolled over his bonnet and landed on the ground, before Wall's car went over Mr Simpson's leg, leaving him with life changing injuries. Wall told police he thought he was being goaded by Mr Lawless - who was just trying to tell him there was a problem with his bike - on January 21, 2019.

Wall, of Pennsylvania Road, Tuebrook, admitted assault and causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was jailed for 14 months.

Christopher Welsh junior

Christopher Welsh junior, nicknamed the "Scouse Escobar", had his mammoth jail sentence extended after being found with mobile phones in jail.

Prison officers discovered the notorious drug trafficker had a phone in one prison and then, after he was moved, linked him to another illicit device. The 43-year-old is serving a 28-year sentence for two separate drugs conspiracies - including one managed with his dad, Christopher Welsh senior.

Welsh junior, formerly of Lyndale Avenue in Eastham, Wirral, was caught with an iPhone and SIM card in HMP Wymott, Lancashire in August, 2020. Then, after being moved to HMP Berwyn in Wales, he was found with a tiny Zanco mobile and a SIM in April 2021.

Welsh junior, who had used them to contact family members, admitted possessing specified items in prison. He was handed a further six months in prison.

Karl McIntyre

Karl McIntyre stabbed a man multiple times as the victim jumped for his life from a window.

The thug stabbed Anthony Owens in the leg and the arm with a 10-inch kitchen knife after a night of drinking. McIntyre, 41, and his friend, Gary Davies, 32, had been invited into Mr Owens' flat, in Bootle, when they didn't have anywhere else to go.

But they demanded the victim's bank card and PIN, before McIntyre stole £110 in cash from Mr Owens and his £100 mobile phone. Mr Owens handed over his bank card and PIN to Davies, who left, but when the victim tried to escape, McIntyre launched his attack.

Both men admitted robbery on the day a trial was due to start. McIntyre, of Pear Grove, Kensington, was jailed for nine years, with an extended four years on licence.

Davies, of Oriel Road, Bootle, was jailed for six years and nine months.

Rueben Price Snr

Three members of the same family were involved in an incident when shots were fired and a wagon was rammed by a tipper truck.

Witnesses told police between five and six shots were fired during a confrontation at Factory Lane in Widnes on August 3, 2020. Police said the disturbance related to a land dispute between two families, who both owned sites on Factory Lane.

They said one of the families had decided to undertake building work on their land, which the Price family strongly objected to. As a result, the Price family decided to take matters into their own hands and went to the site en masse.

A wagon driver delivering fencing to the site said his lorry was deliberately rammed by a yellow tipper truck being driven by one of the Prices. Other people also claimed they were also rammed by the truck. During a search of the land belonging to the Price family, police found destroyed mobile phones, ammunition and abandoned vehicles.

A long barrelled gun was also subsequently seized from an address associated with Reuben Price Snr in Newton-le-Willows. Rueben Price Snr, Rueben Price Jnr and James Price all admitted charges of violent disorder.

Price Snr, 49, of Regent Street, Newton-le-Willows, was jailed for three years. Price Jnr, 27, of Southworth Road, Newton-le-Willows, was jailed for two years and five months.

James Price, 24, of Baguley Avenue, Widnes, was also jailed for two years and five months.

Hugh Black

Hugh Black stole more than £500,000 from a number of companies as his wife spent the cash on luxury holidays in Spain.

The 58-year-old, from Rainford, set up businesses installing energy efficient home improvements in order to submit fraudulent claims. With the help of a right-hand man from Manchester, he falsified and altered invoices received from legitimate companies to a total of £593,000.

He fraudulently transferred £350,000 out of his failing company, Ecogreen Renewables Ltd, before it was wound up, to avoid paying creditors. The money was transferred to Phoenix Interiors (North West) Ltd, a company he and his wife Helen Black, 51, were the directors of.

He later claimed the money was moved because Ecogreen owed Phoenix a £750,000 debt - putting this false debt ahead of genuine payments owed. Hugh Black admitted conspiracy to fraudulently evade VAT; two counts of fraud in anticipation of winding up; and knowingly making a false statement.

He was jailed for five years. Helen Black admitted acquiring criminal property and transferring criminal property.

She was handed a suspended prison sentence.

Donna Williams

Donna Williams punched a paramedic in the face and called her a "t***" after a passer-by dialled 999 fearing she had suffered a heart attack.

The drunken nan had to be restrained by police when she threatened to further hit the woman in Birkenhead in the early hours of November 28 last year. It was the latest shameful attack carried out by the 54-year-old, who has repeatedly lashed out at emergency service staff and issued bomb threats to police.

Williams, of Fieldway Court in Birkenhead, who later said she was "10" out of 10 on a scale of drunkenness, admitted breaching a suspended sentence and assaulting an emergency worker. She was jailed for 14 months.

Aaron Green

A convicted cocaine dealer released from jail hid a revolver under his pregnant girlfriend's mattress.

Aaron Green said he "tried to keep his head down" and stay out of trouble after serving two prison sentences for drug dealing. He had been locked up for his part in a crack cocaine and heroin ring, then for stashing £24,000 of cocaine down his underpants.

But after being released on licence, the 30-year-old said he was told he owed a debt and had to repay it by looking after the gun. Undercover police were watching Green's partner's family home in Flamstead, Skelmersdale, on Friday, December 17 last year.

After stopping a car that left the street with bags of adulterant, officers searched the young mum's house and found the gun, next to £15,000 in cash. Green, of Eavesdale, Skelmersdale, admitted possessing a firearm and possessing a firearm when prohibited from doing so due to a past jail term.

He was jailed for five years and four months.

Alex McDonald

Alex McDonald blamed sick online chats with a '13-year-old girl' on the stress of his dad dying from cancer.

The paedophile sent disgusting videos and sexually explicit photos to a person he thought was a child. The then 19-year-old - who encouraged her to perform sex acts - was really talking to an undercover police officer.

McDonald, now 20, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause a child aged 13 to 15 to look at an image of sexual activity, and attempting to cause a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity. He now claims he doesn't remember the chats in February and March 2021 and denies having any sexual interest in children. But a judge rejected those claims and jailed him for 20 months.

Paul Mangan

Paul Mangan planned to sell a revolver and sent "price lists" of guns that included AK47s and submachine guns.

The 27-year-old also used his EncroChat handle "PaleRadio" to order kilos of cocaine, heroin and cannabis to distribute to dealers throughout Liverpool. Mangan denied conspiracy to transfer and possess prohibited weapons, as well as plots to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis, but was found guilty after a trial.

He used EncroChat to message several accounts with price lists for a variety of different guns that could potentially be sourced, including sub-machine guns, rifles and Glock pistols. Mangan, from Huyton, but now of no fixed address, eventually facilitated the transfer of a Special Calibre Revolver self-loading pistol.

He was jailed for 18 and a half years.

Michelle Marshall

Michelle Marshall and her husband Simon ran a children's football club into the ground by blowing nearly £100,000 of its money.

The "greedy" couple were the directors of Phoenix Football Youth Club in Southport, which secured a £75,000 grant for a new clubhouse and had around £41,000 coming in from player subscriptions. But while building work stalled and players went without proper equipment, the Marshalls and their three children holidayed in the USA, France and Italy - enjoying meals out, paintballing and boating trips.

Mrs Marshall, 42, was chairwoman and treasurer, while her 47-year-old husband was the secretary and welfare officer of the club, then based in Russell Road. The mum stole around £70,000 of the grant, and a further £29,000 in subscription fees, including a sum of around £12,500, which her husband jointly took. Mrs Marshall admitted two counts of fraud, relating to £99,453 in total.

She was jailed for two and a half years. Her husband admitted one count of fraud, relating to £12,686. He was handed 15 months in prison, suspended for 18 months.

Matthew West

Matthew West agreed to mind a shotgun in exchange for 10 wraps of cocaine and heroin.

The 49-year-old drug addict hid the weapon in his shed after his dealer asked him to look after a parcel. The shotgun was discovered when police raided West's home in Carlton Road, Birkenhead on February 9 this year.

Police also recovered four wraps of crack cocaine and four wraps of heroin - part of his payment. West admitted possessing a shotgun and possessing crack cocaine and heroin. He was jailed for 12 months.

Neil Webb

Neil Webb was caught with almost 200 indecent images of children.

The 25-year-old, of Bruera Road, Ellesmere Port, was previously convicted of possessing and downloading indecent images of children in February 2021. He was then sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, and made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

An officer visited his home address on June 25, 2021 to ensure he was keeping to his conditions. She discovered his mobile phone was on private browsing mode - a breach of his SHPO.

The officer found there were in excess of 350 bookmarked URLs, which related to Category C indecent images of children. On February 2, 2022, officers raided Webb's home and a further phone, which was not registered with the police, was seized from him.

This was found to contain 198 images indicative of indecent images of children. He admitted two breaches of the order and possessing and downloading indecent images of children. Webb was jailed for 20 months.

Connor Cotterill

Connor Cotterill's mum and dad were "shocked to the core" to discover he was a drug dealer.

He said he started selling cocaine and ecstasy to pay off debts he ran up from taking drugs. But his parents had no idea until police raided their home and searched the property for his illicit stash - the first of three arrests for drugs.

Officers found cocaine and MDMA when they struck at the family's address in Acorn Street, Newton-le-Willows on December 13, 2019. ust after midnight on April 25, 2021, he was stopped in a car in Langdale Grove, St Helens with more cocaine and MDMA, plus ketamine and a knuckle duster.

The now 25-year-old was then caught at We Are FSTVL in London with MDMA, ketamine and benzocaine on September 8, 2021. Cotterill admitted four counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply, one count of possessing Class A drugs, two counts of possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply, and possessing an offensive weapon.

He was jailed for four years and nine months.

Karl Donoghue

Karl Donoghue stole a car, shotguns and samurai sword from a number of homes last summer.

He broke into a house on Sutherland Drive, Eastham, during the early hours of the morning, where he stole the keys to a Volkswagen Golf. The 27-year-old drove the stolen car to another home on Queens Drive in Helsby, Cheshire, where he broke into another home that day.

He searched the address and stole two licensed shotguns, two knives, a martial arts sword and a baseball bat, before fleeing in the stolen car. Later that day, police discovered the Golf in Little Sutton without registration plates and inside found the plates and the sword and baseball bat.

Donoghue, of Barnston Avenue, Ellesmere Port, admitted two burglaries, two counts of possession of a shotgun without a certificate, and three counts of possession of a bladed article. He was jailed for five years and four months.

Michael Smith

Michael Smith tricked a vulnerable teenager into thinking she was in love with him before sexually assaulting her.

The 49-year-old spent months grooming his victim before setting up a meeting with her and luring her back to his home. The pervert collected the child from an address in Warrington in February of last year.

He then drove the girl back to his flat in Cheetham Fold Road, Hyde, Greater Manchester, where he sexually assaulted her. She was found at around 5.30am the following day after she contacted police. Smith was found guilty of causing and inciting a teenage girl to engage in sexual activity.

He was jailed for 12 years.

Gary Reid

Grandad EncroChat dealer Gary Reid was busted after posting selfies from his own home.

The 54-year-old who used the handle "LockStar", supplied large quantities of heroin, cocaine and cannabis across Wirral. Messages from his handle included mention of seven kilos of heroin costing £20,000, five kilos of cocaine costing £41,000, and the use of adulterants.

Detectives found the grandad-of-five had included his home address, photos of himself and his home, and mentioned his children, before they raided his address in February last year. Reid, of Ackers Road, Woodchurch, admitted three conspiracies involving the supply of cocaine, heroin and cannabis between March 23 and June 5, 2020.

He was jailed for nine years and three months.

Joel Lawler

A mum dropped her son's drugs safe in the boot of her car and pulled off her drive as police closed in on her home.

Gemma Morris was tipped off that Joel Lawler had been stopped by officers while dealing drugs from his Mercedes. But police reached their home in time to stop the 41-year-old as she was about to drive away with his illicit stash.

Lawler was stopped by police in Birkdale on the night of October 31, 2020, after receiving reports of suspicious activity by a man in a Mercedes. He had eight wraps of ketamine, four wraps of cocaine, 1.5g of MDMA and £550, while his phone was said to have been "extremely active".

Police decided to search Lawler's home in Derby Street, Ormskirk and caught Morris with the safe containing £3,565 in cash and further drugs. Lawler, now 20, admitted possessing cocaine, MDMA, and ketamine with intent to supply.

He was locked up for two years and eight months. His mum, who admitted perverting the course of justice, was handed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.

Jason Clarke

Unrepentant rapist Jason Clarke destroyed the childhoods of his victims by subjecting them to years of emotional abuse and sexual attacks.

He repeatedly targeted youngsters by grooming and exploiting them. In one horrific case he raped a child who was on a bike ride through woodland. Clarke, 48, had spent years manipulating three victims.

He made them perform sex acts, subjected them to abuse and, in some cases, raped them. The sex attacks, which took place across different properties in Merseyside, were only stopped when one of his victims gathered the courage to speak out. .

He was found guilty after a trial of 24 counts of sexual abuse, including multiple rapes. Clarke, most recently of Hollins Drive in Stafford, has shown no remorse. He was jailed for 24 years.

Thomas Hastie

Thomas Hastie set fire to a nearby business' trailer in a "revenge attack" following a parking row.

The 31-year-old, of Harbern Close, West Derby, ran Top Soil Supplies on Juniper Street in Kirkdale. He was irritated with Gaskells Waste, based on nearby Foster Street, parking articulated vehicles near his yard.

Hastie set fire to the trailer, which was parked just metres away from another facility containing gas canisters, by lighting a diesel-soaked rag and throwing it on top of it, on May 2, 2021. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze before it could spread beyond the trailer.

However, there was damage estimated at £8,596. Hastie admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

He was jailed for two years and eight months.

Robert Neal

Robert Neal shot the owner of a takeaway he visited five times a week and stole money from the till to feed his cocaine addiction.

The 31-year-old, of Brows Lane, Formby, walked just a matter of yards from his home to Flames takeaway, where he pointed a BB gun at the shop's owner. The armed robber entered the takeaway, at around 11.45pm, on January 24 this year, wearing a mask and latex gloves, and threatened Kagan Kocak.

CCTV footage showed how Neal then fired the gun, which looked like a Glock pistol, and the pellet hit the victim in the chest, leaving a small red mark, before he escaped with £189. He admitted robbery and possessing an imitation firearm with intent to commit robbery. Neal was jailed for six years and eight months.

David Hickman

David Hickman launched a vicious, humiliating attack on a nurse before trying to destroy her career.

The 33-year-old bit, punched and spat at his then partner, who he shoved through a glass shower partition and poured bleach over her. Hickman ignored her pleas to be released and locked her in his flat in Wallasey overnight after England lost the Euro 2020 final on July 11, 2021.

The victim, who the ECHO chose not to name, fled barefoot when Hickman fell asleep the following morning and the attack was reported to the police. Hickman, of Poulton Road, went on the run for a fortnight but continued to message her, threatening to take his own life if she supported a prosecution.

He was jailed for seven years, with an extended three years on licence.

Ross Lambert

Ross Lambert helped set fire to a car wrongly identified as being owned by a paedophile.

The 'vigilante', of New Brighton, smashed the front offside window of the white Jaguar parked on a road in Wallasey with a hammer on October 24 last year. But the 28-year-old cut his hand while smashing the car window, before an unknown accomplice hurled a petrol bomb at the car, causing £13,000 of damage.

Police were able to link Lambert to the crime by DNA as he had wiped his bloodied hand on the bonnet. Lambert admitted arson. He was jailed for four and a half years, with an extended licence of four and a half years.

John Batey

A teenage boy who stabbed a dad-of-two in the heart was locked up, along with a man who tried to help him get away with murder.

Connor Dockerty was repeatedly knifed in the chest by a then 14-year-old boy, Boy A, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in a Huyton street. Mr Dockerty, 23, staggered into a nearby garden, bleeding from four stab wounds, and with his last words said: "I'm dying - tell my kids I love them".

Boy A, who was riding a red mountain bike, attacked Mr Dockerty in Kingsway, near the Oak Tree Pub, at around 8pm on Monday, April 19 last year. The victim had earlier been involved in a minor altercation in Liverpool Road, which led to Boy A going to confront him.

The teenager, now aged 15, from Huyton, claimed he acted in self-defence and Mr Dockerty had a blade, but the victim was in fact unarmed. Boy A was found guilty of murder in December, after a six-week trial. He was handed a life sentence, with a minimum of 14 years behind bars.

John Batey, 44, of no fixed address, but from Huyton, was found guilty of assisting an offender. That was for disposing of Boy A's "distinctive" red Trek bike - "critical evidence" in the wake of the killing.

He was jailed for three years.

Robert Trigg

Robert Trigg took sick photographs of himself raping and sexually abusing a little boy.

The paedophile had been accessing child sex abuse images online and National Crime Agency officers raided his home and seized his iPhone. On the device they recovered Category A, B and C indecent images of children, including Category A files showing him raping a young boy.

The pervert, formerly of Wirral but now of Fairclough Crescent, Haydock, had moved the images of the child to a secure "keep safe vault" on his phone. He admitted rape, two counts of causing or inciting the boy to engage in sexual activity and three counts of taking indecent photographs of the boy.

Trigg was jailed for 11 and a half years with an extended licence of 12 months.

Andrew Murphy

Andrew Murphy shouted "I love you" to his current girlfriend as he was jailed for racially abusing his ex-partner.

The 37-year-old saw his ex-girlfriend in the street and called her a racial slur, before spitting at her and squeezing her neck. The couple had broken up four weeks before this happened in a first incident, on March 10, 2020.

Murphy then sent threats in racially abusive texts and voicemails, before kicking and banging at her front door. Then, on March 14, he broke into her house while she was out and stole a TV set.

Murphy, of Carr Meadow Hey, Netherton, admitted racially aggravated harassment. He cried as he was jailed for two years and 11 months.

Nigel Diakite

'Monster' dad Nigel Diakite murdered a young mum next to their sleeping baby.

Diakite launched a brutal attack on N'Taya Elliott-Cleverley on the day she was moving out because of his domestic violence. He strangled her to death with a skipping rope in bed, while their four-month-old daughter was in a cot next to them.

The 19-year-old claimed he couldn't remember carrying out the killing at their Wavertree home - despite confessing to it afterwards. Diakite, aka Mohammed Diakite, blamed mental health problems and even accused his 20-year-old victim of assaulting him.

But he was found guilty of murdering his partner at their Prince Alfred Road flat, in the early hours of Friday, January 29, 2021. Diakite, who was accused by the victim's family of crying crocodile tears in court, was jailed for life with a minimum of 19 years.

Charles Goodwin

Charles Goodwin raped a student and sexually assaulted another while under investigation for an earlier rape.

A judge said the 21-year-old business management student - who described himself to one victim as a "sex god" - didn't care whether his victims consented. Judge Garrett Byrne said the young MMA fighter treated each of his victims as a "plaything or toy" and at the heart of his crimes lay "a deep-seated misogyny where women are to be treated as nothing more than sex objects".

Goodwin, of Hilbre Street, Liverpool city centre, but formerly of Salford, was found guilty of three charges of raping one student in Manchester, attempting to choke her, assault by penetration and assaulting her. After that attack in January 2020, he then struck the following September, after he had started studying at the University of Liverpool.

He was convicted of raping a second student at her accommodation in the city - though cleared of two other rapes of her - and convicted of two offences of sexually assaulting a third student just three days later. He was cleared of assaulting a fourth student by penetration.

Goodwin was jailed for 17 years, with an extended three years on licence.

Shane Unwin

Dimwitted drug dealer Shane Unwin alerted police to his exploits after carving his name and address into a branch on the territory he sought to control.

He scratched his nickname - 'Onion' - the Huyton estate he lived on - "Longy" meaning Longview - and the message "f*** the drug squad" into a tree, close to where his dealers flogged crack cocaine and heroin in Sankey Valley Park, Warrington. Under his leadership a 'Onion' drugs line bombarded addicts with a "mass advertising" campaign that saw customers sent up to 178 drug deal offers a day.

Those messages were dispatched by a "graft" phone that detectives were able to link to Unwin, whose gang was busted after every significant member - including him - dealt to undercover police officers - between October 2020 and May 2021. Cheshire Police found evidence that between 1.5kg and 3kg of heroin and crack cocaine was sold while the gang was active - though the court heard the real amount could be higher.

Each of the defendants had admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine, apart from Kris Bamford, who only admitted conspiracy to supply heroin. The gang's ringleader Unwin, 27, of Hale View Road in Huyton, was jailed for eight and a half years.

Second in command Callum Cargin, 26, of Knowsley Lane, Huyton, was jailed for six years and eight months. Junior gang member Jack Murphy, 20, of Nightingale Road in Croxteth Park, was locked up for three years.

Paul Ellis, 56, who dealt drugs from his home in Rixton Avenue, Bewsey, Warrington, was jailed for two years and eight months. Darren Houghton, 49, who dealt drugs from his Trafford Avenue, Bewsey home, was jailed for three years.

Bamford, 36, whose home in nearby Whitecross Road, Whitecross was used as a safehouse by the gang, was jailed for three years.

Mark Hills

A mother and son ran a waste yard where rubbish was illegally stored and burned.

Police and the Environment Agency (EA) took part in raids at MWM Recycling Ltd in August 2018. Two men were arrested and several vehicles seized at the site on Redfern Street in Kirkdale.

Patricia Hills, 69, was in control of the site and her son Mark Hills, 44, was responsible for its day-to-day running. The EA said MVM Recycling's environmental permit was revoked after a number of breaches and the firm was issued with an enforcement notice. But waste continued to be stored and illegally burnt on site.

Patricia Hills, of Moss Delph Lane, Aughton, admitted five offences, including failing to comply with environmental permit conditions and knowingly permitting the deposit of controlled waste. She was jailed for 12 months.

Mark Hills, of Turn Pike Road, Aughton, pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with environmental permit conditions. He was jailed for eight months.

Alex Nicholson

Alex Nicholson said texts telling addicts he was "about all day and night" were only offering cannabis and ketamine for sale.

The convicted cocaine and heroin dealer was stopped by police in a Renault Megane, in Everite Road in Widnes, on January 16 this year. Officers searched the car and didn't find any drugs, but in his jacket pocket discovered a Nokia described as a "burner type mobile phone".

The device was found to contain outgoing "flare" messages, offering drugs for sale, to known addicts in Northwich, Cheshire. Nicholson, 29, of Lakenheath Road, Halewood, was originally charged with two offences of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

However, prosecutors accepted guilty pleas to two offences of offering to supply Class B drugs, because the texts did not specify what drugs he was selling. He was jailed for three years.

Declan Connerton

Declan Connerton battered an innocent woman in an unprovoked street attack that led to her having several teeth removed.

He followed his victim and her friends after they got off a bus, hurled abuse at them, then punched his victim to the ground and kicked her up to five times, knocking her unconscious. Connerton's attack happened in the early hours of July 4 last year as a group of women travelled home on the 10A bus from Liverpool to St Helens.

After they got off on Warrington Road, Whiston, a fellow passenger did the same and told them he was worried for their safety because of Connerton's behaviour, before the shocking attack unfolded, leaving the victim in constant fear. Connerton, 26, of Sefton Close in Kirkby, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm.

He was jailed for 18 months.

Mark Little

A street dealing gang sold hard drugs to addicts next to a children's playground.

The "Lenny Line" told customers there was "no waiting, no debating" as they peddled heroin and crack cocaine. The Class A dealing network operated on the streets of Warrington between December 2020 and May 2021.

During that period 8,647 text adverts were distributed and between 940g and 1.88kg of Class A drugs were believed to have been dealt, leading to sales that could have amounted to £188,000. The gang was sunk by Cheshire Police after gang members made eight sales to an undercover officer posing as an addict.

Mark Little, 38, of Town Hill in Warrington town centre, led the line, with the help of his younger brother, Matthew Little. He admitted conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin as well as dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified, driving with no insurance, possession of cocaine and failing to provide a specimen, relating to an incident in the area in March 2021.

Mark Little was jailed for 11 years. Matthew Little, 34, of Melville Close, Orford, Warrington, admitted conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin and was jailed for three years.

Anthony Westhead, 46, of Melville Close, Orford , who ran a graft called "Scouse Billy", also became involved in the operation. He admitted conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin.

He was also sentenced for an incident that saw him caught with up to £6,500 of heroin and cocaine secreted inside him in Wales in August 2019. He was jailed for nine years.

Street dealer Barry Jones, 53, of Algernon Street in Fairfield, Warrington, admitted conspiracy to supply crack cocaine. He was jailed for three years.

Michael Wright

Child rapist Michael Wright was caught with a collection of extreme pornography.

He was found deleting content on his laptop when police visited his home to check he was complying with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. The device was seized and more than 150 images of bestiality were discovered - along with Google searches for more depraved content - in June 2021.

Wright, from Southport, was previously jailed for seven years in 2016 after admitting a string of child sexual offences including three counts of rape. The 56-year-old former HGV driver admitted possessing extreme pornography and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He was jailed for six months.

Robert Jones

The dark past of former primary school and college caretaker Robert Jones was exposed in court.

The 70-year-old was a caretaker at Sudley Junior School in Aigburth in the early 1970s. While working at the school the then 20-year-old exposed himself to two little girls in the toilets.

But he went on to get a job at Liverpool Polytechnic, which later became Liverpool John Moores University. During this period he subjected a little girl to depraved sexual abuse, which has only now come to light, in the 1970s and 1980s.

Jones, of Hardie Avenue, Moreton, Wirral, denied any wrongdoing, but was found guilty of five counts of indecent assault and one count of indecency with a child. He was jailed for five years.

Yoann Lou

A huge police operation saw a drug gang including three men from Merseyside brought to justice.

More than 160 police officers from across the North of England took part in an operation that saw around £600,000 of heroin, £18,000 in cash and six luxury cars seized in November 2019. Arrests were made in strikes in Sunderland, County Durham and Merseyside, which saw 15 properties raided, after a group was found to be ferrying drugs from Liverpool to Wearside.

Yoann Lou, 39, of Wharncliffe Road, Old Swan, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and breaching a previous suspended sentence for possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply. He was jailed for six years and five months.

Martin Pearson, 32, of Aspes Road, West Derby, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin. He was jailed for six years and five months.

Gareth Lewis, 44, of Minver Road, West Derby, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and possessing heroin with intent to supply. He was jailed for two years and 10 months.

Philip Boardman

A dad-of-two and former NHS worker raped a young boy when he himself was a teenager.

Married 45-year-old Philip Boardman has worked as a healthcare assistant in hospitals, as an ambulance technician, and as a courier for a medical firm. But in the early 1990s, when aged between 14 and 17, he destroyed the life of a "terrified" young boy, living in the St Helens area, then "hid a dark secret".

Boardman, of Winstanley Close, Great Sankey, Warrington, denied four counts of indecent assault, but was found guilty after a trial. Two of the counts would now be classed as sexual assault. They related to touching the boy's penis and making him touch his, on at least 10 occasions.

The court heard the two other counts would now be classed as rape. They related to two specific instances of the oral rape of the child.

He was jailed for four years.

Andrew Cates

Andrew Cates forged the signature of his dementia-suffering mum to sell her home and splashed out on a Rolex, laptop and jewellery with the proceeds.

The 54-year-old sold his mum's three bedroom house in Berwick Avenue, Ainsdale at a cut price and spent £80,000 of the proceeds over just nine months, including buying himself luxury items. Cates rarely visited his elderly mother, now aged 75, and the fees for the care home, where she has now been for seven years, went unpaid.

Fortunately, the victim was said to be "mercifully blissfully unaware" of her conniving son's betrayal. Recorder Ian Harris, QC said: "This offence was cruel, selfish and calculated. It is the type of offending that runs roughshod over the rights of others."

Cates, of Salford Road, Ainsdale, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation between November 1, 2018 and April 30, 2019. He was jailed for two and a half years.

Brian Maxwell junior

A father and son received threat to life warnings from police when threatened by rival gangsters.

Drug dealers Brian Maxwell, 54, and Brian Thomas Maxwell, 35, fell foul of a rival organised crime group who threatened violence. Prosecutors said a rival gang suspected Maxwell junior was involved in the theft of drugs that belonged to them.

In response to Osman warnings from Merseyside Police in May 27, 2020, Maxwell junior tried to buy weapons from criminal contacts to defend himself. He used EncroChat to try and source an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, an AK47, a Glock 17, a Grand Power pistol, a Walther PPK handgun and ammunition.

Maxwell jnr offered two Rolex watches to help pay for the guns and ammunition and said in other messages that he already had two guns. Maxwell snr, who used the EncroChat handle "RetiredVermouth", and his son, aka "MediumRose" and "DiorNote", were arrested in September 2021.

Maxwell snr, of Stockswell Road, Tarbock Green, and Maxwell jnr, of Ditchfield Road, Widnes, both admitted conspiring to supply cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamine, and conspiring to produce cannabis. Maxwell jnr also admitted conspiring to possess, purchase or acquire prohibited firearms, and possessing prohibited firearms.

Maxwell junior was jailed for 18 years and four months, while Maxwell senior was jailed for 13 years and four months.

Roy Woodward

Roy Woodward subjected a young girl to a "campaign of rape".

The 56-year-old, of no fixed address but previously of Runcorn and Widnes, was sentenced alongside his wife Gaynor Woodward. Roy Woodward was found guilty of 14 counts of sexual offences, namely four of rape, eight of indecently assaulting a child, and two of indecency with a child.

A trial had heard how Roy Woodward, who denied any wrongdoing, plied his victim with sweets to secure her silence. He also used alcohol to assist his grooming.

Gaynor Woodward, 58, of Worcester Court, Runcorn, was convicted of one count of cruelty. She too had denied her guilt.

The now adult victim, who has had "horrific nightmares" ever since, believes the abuse triggered a mental health condition. She said: "I will never be able to live a normal life. I feel hollow and empty."

Roy Woodward, who was previously locked up for nine years in 2018 for raping another girl, was jailed for 21 years, with an extended four years on licence. But he died only months later in July.

Gaynor Woodward was jailed for four years.

David Clements

David Clements, who launched a Christmas Eve robbery, was caught after his victim found him on Facebook.

The 42-year-old targeted SRS Convenience on Rice Lane in Walton shortly after 10pm on December 24, 2020. Clements, who was a regular customer at the shop, entered with a mask on and covered by a hoodie and grabbed worker Sekalathan Arulampalam by the neck, before stealing cash from the till.

Mr Arulampalam recognised Clements during the robbery from the small part of his face that was visible and initially thought it was a joke, but the crook stole up to £250 in cash. The victim then showed the robber's Facebook to police and Clements admitted robbery.

He was jailed for six months to reflect the fact he was already serving a sentence for another robbery.

Liam Maxwell

Liam Maxwell hid cocaine, heroin and weapons in his home.

The 28-year-old, of Ternhall Road, Fazakerley played a key role in an organised crime gang involved in county lines drug dealing. His home was raided on Thursday, February 17 as part of Merseyside Police's Operation Toxic.

Around 85g of Class A drugs were recovered in the house, along with scales, bags, £500 in cash and weapons. Maxwell was arrested and later charged with possessing an offensive weapon in a private place, possession of Class A and B drugs with intent to supply and use of criminal property.

He was jailed for three years and four months.

Annuar Ameir

Annuar Ameir carried a drunk girl into a house and raped her.

The 30-year-old attacked his 17-year-old victim as she slept on a sofa at a house party in Liverpool in 2018. He denied any wrongdoing but was found guilty of rape after a trial in which his victim had to give evidence.

Judge Gary Woodhall said: "I am troubled by the circumstances of this offending, which involved predatory behaviour targeting a particularly vulnerable girl." He said Ameir clearly had misogynistic and "flawed" views around sex, adding: "You present as someone with a sense of male entitlement, with a misogynistic view of female characters."

Ameir, of Arnold Crescent, Toxteth, was jailed for nine years and nine months.

Ricardo Randev

Gambling addict Ricardo Randev who "brought shame on himself" worked as a drug dealer to pay off a loan shark.

The 59-year-old was caught with high purity cocaine with a potential street value of £57,000 when police raided his home in Cronton on April 4, 2021. Officers found two blocks of cocaine and 79 bags of the drug, with a purity of 67%, plus mixing agent benzocaine and an unspecified quantity of cash.

Randev said he had long been leading "a double life" keeping his gambling addiction a secret and turned to a loan shark out of "desperation", landing himself in £13,000 of debt. Randev, of The Ridgeway, Cronton, admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply.

He was jailed for three years.

Kieran Murphy

Homes and vehicles were targeted across Merseyside by burglars Kieran Murphy and Lawrence Pybis.

Their three-month crimewave was brought down by Merseyside Police as part of Operation Mothman. The incidents spanned from November 1, 2020 to January 26, 2021.

Murphy, 25, of Clieves Road, Kirkby, admitted conspiracy to commit burglary. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal motor vehicles. He was jailed for three years and nine months.

Pybis, 20, of Utting Avenue East, Norris Green, admitted conspiracy to commit burglary. He was jailed for three years.

Simon Rose

Bent copper Simon Rose formed a secret sexual relationship with an alleged rape victim and later tried to thwart a police raid on her home.

He was convicted of misconduct in public office and attempting to pervert the course of justice after a trial exposed his corruption. The 48-year-old, of Burnside, Parbold, West Lancashire, had been attached to the Salford division of Greater Manchester Police.

He met the woman in May 2012 in his role as a specially trained officer involved in dealing with rape and sexual assault allegations. She alleged she had been raped at knifepoint after being taken away in a vehicle by two men, though the case later did not proceed.

Their relationship was hidden from Rose's colleagues until October 2019, when the woman's name came under the spotlight because of plans to raid her home. He repeatedly told a colleague it must be a mistake, then went with two officers to the house and asked them to overlook any evidence that might get him sacked.

When the woman was interviewed she revealed their relationship became sexual a few months after their first meeting. However, Rose had made her keep quiet about it.

He was jailed for three years.

Jacob Bullen

Jacob Bullen who stashed £10,000 high purity cocaine in a fridge was exposed as EncroChat drug dealer "HeroicFox".

Bullen was caught with two large blocks of cocaine when police raided his girlfriend's home in Appleton Road, Walton on December 16 2020. The 26-year-old, who claimed "it's not mine, I'm looking after it for someone else", was jailed for six years and eight months in January 2021.

But on the day of his arrest, he handed over his iPhone 7 and the PIN to the device, which was sent away for examination by specialists. The content of that phone, combined with EncroChat messages, revealed his role as a £2m drug and cash courier "HeroicFox".

Bullen admitted new charges of conspiring to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis. The plot was brought down as part of a military police operation.

He was jailed for five years, to be served consecutively to his existing prison term.

Thomas Farrell

Thomas Farrell yawned in the dock as he was sentenced for burgling a pensioner who was so terrified she pretended to be asleep.

The 86-year-old "froze" and lay hiding beneath her duvet while the burglar went through her wardrobe at around 5am on December 11 last year. Farrell, 20, then left the bedroom of her Egremont flat and rifled through cupboards and drawers in other rooms.

She stayed in bed too frightened to move for an hour until she was sure he had gone. He took her £200 mobile phone, along with her handbag.

The victim had lived independently in her flat for 34 years, but because of the incident had to move out. She was initially in respite care but is now in sheltered accommodation and has to rely on others for assistance.

Farrell, of Comely Bank Road, Wallasey, admitted burglary. He was locked up for four years.

Anthony Lea

Crooked solicitor Anthony Lea washed the dirty cash of organised criminals running an international timeshare fraud scheme.

The 66-year-old admitted laundering £465,000 for the gang, who used cold callers promising that they had timeshare buyers lined up for a quick sale. Lea, of West End Road, St Helens, was even found to have handed over bags stuffed with £180,000 in cash at motorway service stations.

A Trading Standards investigation began in 2016 after a tip-off from a pensioner in West Berkshire. But it soon became clear there were hundreds of timeshare and holiday club policyholders victimised by the organised crime group.

The masterminds of the operation, who have never been identified, posed as so-called 'resale firms' Simple Timeshare Sales and Marketing, Find Me Travel and UK Holiday Consultants. Lea, who was struck-off the roll of solicitors in 2001 for using client money for his own benefit, admitted four counts of acquiring criminal property.

He was jailed for three years.

Fethi Chebbi

Bullying dad Fethi Chebbi asked his partner if she "wanted to feel pain" before stubbing out a lit cigarette on her.

He also dragged the woman by the hair so violently that her extensions were torn from her head in a vile campaign of abuse. Chebbi, who is originally from Tunisia but had been living in Eastham, Wirral, had been in a relationship with the woman for two and a half years.

The victim, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, revealed he stubbed the cigarette out on her in July 2020 and pulled out her hair that October. Chebbi admitted criminal damage for breaking the woman's phone but denied the assaults until the day of his trial, when he pleaded guilty.

Despite his actions, the 36-year-old, of Argyle Street, Birkenhead, shouted that the decision to jail him was "a joke" as he was led to the cells. The serial woman beater was jailed for 20 months.

Kevin Bernard

Speeding driver Kevin Bernard ruined a teenager's life in a horror smash then spent more than a year on the run.

He sped in a black Audi S3 along Southport Road in Bootle at 86mph - nearly three times the road's 30mh limit. Lee Baxter meanwhile was heading to his 19th birthday party at his mum's house with two friends in his blue Ford Fiesta.

Bernard hit the Fiesta, inflicting multiple injuries including brain damage on the teen, who was left fighting for his life in a coma. The 22-year-old victim "had to learn how to breathe, talk, walk and eat" again and his personality was dramatically altered.

Bernard, 44, denied causing serious injury by dangerous driving in the horrific crash, late on Saturday, June 16, 2018. Yet he disappeared in December 2020 and failed to attend his trial last May, when he was found guilty, or his sentencing that July.

Bernard was handed six years in prison in his absence, when a judge also sentenced him for a series of driving related frauds. The fugitive, of Riversdale Road, Aigburth, handed himself in on April 4 and admitted breach of bail.

He was jailed for two months, consecutive to his existing six-year sentence.

Daniel McDonough

Daniel McDonough raped a woman while she slept then claimed never to have had any sexual contact with her.

He attacked his victim, who was then aged 20, in the early hours of the morning, after a night out in 2020. The then 38-year-old had been drinking with her and others in a pub in Liverpool and offered to share a taxi home with her.

McDonough invited her into his home for a drink and they chatted, until the woman said she was tired and went to bed. The victim awoke to find McDonough had pulled down her clothes and was raping her and begged him to stop, which he eventually did.

When arrested and interviewed, McDonough, of no fixed address but from West Derby, denied having any sexual contact with the victim. But DNA evidence was found on the victim's underwear attributable to 40-year-old McDonough.

He was found guilty of rape after a trial and jailed for seven years.

Dale Schofield

Dale Schofield and Wayne Roberts were part of an estimated £1.8m drug ring.

They allowed crack cocaine, heroin and cash to be kept in their houses for an organised crime group. That gang dealt drugs from Ellesmere Port to Wirral, Greater Manchester and Scotland.

Schofield, 39, of Alverstone Road in Mossley Hill, and Roberts, 51, of East Float Quay in Wallasey, were using their homes as safe houses. This was on behalf of the gang's ring-leader, Mark Cavanagh.

Cavanagh, of Foxdene in Ellesmere Port, was running a drug dealing enterprise that saw him selling an estimated 25kg to 50kg of class A drugs. He was jailed for 14 and a half years in June 2020.

Schofield and Roberts were responsible for housing the gang's drugs and the money gained from it. Roberts was also responsible for couriering the money and drugs for Cavanagh and his gang.

They both admitted assisting an organised crime group. Schofield was jailed for two years and three months and Roberts was jailed for 20 months.

Luke McHugh

Paedophile Luke McHugh climbed up a ladder and into a bedroom intending to sexually assault two sleeping little girls.

He was supposed to be locked into his secure accommodation on Knowsley's Longmeadow Road and prevented from leaving without supervision. Yet the 20-year-old had tampered with a window and escaped in the dead of night to launch his attack on a family's house in the local area in July last year, after spying on them for days.

The convicted sex offender was only stopped from sexually assaulting two girls in the house after their dad heard him get in and disturbed him. He was in the unit for trying to incite an eight-year-old girl to send him naked pictures online and he has convictions for possessing indecent images of children.

McHugh admitted trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence. He was locked up for 10 years.

Gita Fritdenberga

A mum dressed in a pink unicorn onesie was discovered inside a vulnerable woman's home she had taken over to deal drugs.

Gita Fritdenberga was previously part of a gang who flooded the streets of Southport, Seaforth and Waterloo with heroin and crack cocaine. After serving a prison sentence for those crimes, the 37-year-old, of Princes Road, Toxteth, said she tried to turn her life around for her child.

But following the death of her boyfriend in jail, and losing her job at a Liverpool hotel, she moved to Warrington, and soon started dealing again. Police raided a "largely bedridden" woman's house in Thorneycroft Drive, just after midday, on March 9 this year, and found she had been cuckooed.

They found 37-year-old Fritdenberga with 44 wraps of heroin and 84 wraps of crack cocaine, with a total estimated street value of £1,280. Fritdenberga admitted possessing crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply.

She was jailed for three years and nine months.

John Wood

John Wood raped a traumatised mum just days after she gave birth.

The 38-year-old care worker, from Cheshire, met the victim, from Liverpool, at an online conference and they continued to chat. But when she travelled to his new home in Glasgow to meet him, he raped her, and then subjected her to controlling behaviour.

Wood moved into her Liverpool home, she fell pregnant and felt trapped, and he raped her again after she had given birth. He had also twice raped a woman in Scotland and stood trial at Glasgow's High Court charged with raping both women.

Wood, of Dowanhill Street, Glasgow, was found guilty of raping both women. He was jailed for six years.

Lewis Fitzpatrick

Lewis Fitzpatrick helped organise a gangland hit when an innocent man was gunned down by a fake pizza delivery driver.

The victim was shot in the leg by a thug who knocked on his front door and shouted "pizza delivery" while holding fast food boxes. Norris Green "fixer" Lewis Fitzpatrick arranged the hit in Warrington on the evening of April 24, 2020, as part of an underworld war.

Afterwards, he helped facilitate those behind the shooting to acquire another gun, which had been stored in a shed in Croxteth. The 27-year-old, of Eldersfield Road, was also EncroChat drug dealer "LimeEagle", plotting to supply kilos of ketamine and cannabis.

He was convicted of conspiracies to cause grievous bodily harm, to supply firearms and ammunition, and to supply both drugs. Fitzpatrick was jailed for 26 years, with an extended five years on licence.

Stephen Smith

Stephen Smith beat a mum over the head with straighteners before trying to urinate on her.

He also strangled his now ex-partner with a belt a few days earlier, as part of a series of increasingly brutal assaults. The 32-year-old, from Stockbridge Village, tied the belt around her neck and tightened it on December 21 last year.

He attacked her again on Christmas Eve, knocking a pushchair full of Christmas shopping so it spilled onto the ground. On Christmas Day he hit her in the head with straighteners and her boots, then tried to urinate on her, before spitting at her.

Smith, of Snowberry Road, admitted three counts of assault over the attacks - all witnessed by some of the victim's children. He was jailed for three years.

David Bottomley

Former karate instructor David Bottomley who raped a schoolgirl and a woman was labelled a "monster".

The 58-year-old ex-coastguard and prison security officer was exposed as a "violent and abusive" rapist and paedophile. Bottomley abused a woman by committing a historic sex offence against her, which would today be classed as rape.

In another incident he used a karate kick on the woman's jaw while wearing steel toe capped boots. His second victim was a schoolgirl, who Bottomley, of Hoole Lane, Banks, raped when she was aged about 12.

Bottomley was found guilty of the historic sex offence and of assault causing actual bodily harm against the first woman. He was found guilty of rape, indecency with a child and two counts of indecent assault against the schoolgirl.

Bottomley was jailed for 14 years, with an extended one year on licence.

John Pennington

Stalker John Pennington who terrorised a woman in Merseyside was jailed again after failing to learn his lesson.

The 39-year-old previously targeted an ex-girlfriend in Liverpool by slashing her tyres and fitting a tracking device to her car. But when he was released from that jail sentence, he contacted a different woman, breaching a non-molestation order.

Pennington, of Crossford Road, Knotty Ash, was convicted of stalking. He was jailed for two years.

Anna Bonner

Anna Bonner lied for years to con her best friend and bridesmaid out of more than £100,000.

She asked Susan Hughes for vast sums of money, which she said was supporting a sick friend's cancer treatment, but actually funded her own lifestyle. The 40-year-old even encouraged a crush Ms Hughes had on the man, who she only met a few times, getting her to write letters and send gifts that she believed were going to him, but were actually received by Bonner.

The man did not have cancer and a judge labelled mum-of-three Bonner "greedy, devious and manipulative" for stealing more than £117, 000 from her friend. Bonner, of Seaview Road, Liscard, admitted fraud by false representation.

She was jailed for two years and four months.

Peter Edge

The dad of a young woman with Down's Syndrome walked in on perverted care worker Peter Edge exposing himself to her during a video call.

Edge, 62, was the director of a company offering respite care to adults with disabilities - meant to give parents and carers a much-needed break. But he betrayed them in the most devastating way, raping and sexually assaulting the victim at a West Lancashire centre when it was empty.

The abuse only came to light when her horrified dad saw Edge had exposed his penis over a webcam while the victim was in her family home. Police discovered Edge had sexually abused her on the first day she was allowed out after shielding from coronavirus as a vulnerable person.

Edge, of Goswell Street, Wavertree, was found guilty of rape, sexual assault and other offences. He was jailed for 15 years, with an extended five years on licence.

Darren Higham

Darren Higham who once complained about living next door to a convicted paedophile was jailed - for being a paedophile.

The 53-year-old once complained to his local newspaper that he was furious his housing association didn't tell him his neighbour was a sex offender. But he is now behind bars for subjecting a young girl to a series of sordid sex attacks from when she was the age of seven until she was around 11.

The abuse ranged from the self-employed musician kissing and touching the child to forcing her to perform sex acts on him on more than one occasion. Higham, of Chaffinch Close, Birchwood, Warrington, admitted four counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 and inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

He was jailed for four years.

Philip Read

Philip Read who used the EncroChat handle "EducatedGoose" hid 12 kilos of heroin in a bedroom.

He was also trusted to handle large amounts of cash and use it to buy ketamine and heroin from other dealers on the encrypted messaging service. The 43-year-old said he fell into criminality after running up gambling debts as he used drugs for deals in Merseyside during the first five months of 2020.

When police raided Read's home in Portico Lane, Eccleston in March last year they found 12 kilos of heroin stored in a bedroom. He admitted conspiring to supply Class A and Class B drugs and conspiring to convert criminal property.

Read was jailed for 12 years.

Jennifer Smith

Jennifer Smith held a razor blade to a support worker's throat and threatened to rape another.

She targeted the women in a residential care facility in north Liverpool in a terrifying incident. The 39-year-old, of no fixed address, had long term mental health issues and was staying at the facility.

Smith pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and one count of sexual assault. She was jailed for 16 months.

Ahmed Al-Razawe

Ahmed Al-Razawe bit a woman's breast in a "vicious" street attack inflicting a permanent scar.

The 24-year-old sexually assaulted three victims in Liverpool city centre in the space of just four days. He first groped the thighs of a "terrified" 17-year-old girl and her 18-year-old friend, after asking them for sex and making "strange noises", at Liverpool One bus station on October 23, 2021.

Al-Razawe then launched a second "humiliating and degrading" attack, when he slapped a young woman's bottom. He then sank his teeth into her breast and hit her in the head with a wine bottle, in Lydia Ann Street on October 27.

Al-Razawe, of Upper Park Street, Toxteth, admitted three counts of sexual assault and one count of assault causing actual bodily harm. He was jailed for three years.

Elavi Dowie

Busker Elavi Dowie had a lengthy jail sentence extended for secretly filming private family court proceedings.

The 53-year-old dad was known for playing an electric guitar while rapping on Church Street in Liverpool city centre. He was involved in an acrimonious court battle over his two children and was hit with non-molestation and restraining orders.

In August last year, he was jailed for eight years for breaching them both repeatedly. However, it then emerged he had uploaded covertly filmed clips of family court proceedings to YouTube in June and July 2020.

Dowie, of Preesall Road, Preston, admitted contempt of court and was handed a further eight months in prison.

Jamie Hart

Convicted rapist Jamie Hart refused to tell police where he was living after he was released from prison.

Hart was convicted of rape and jailed for seven and a half years in November 2013. He was also told to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

He was required to inform officers of his address as part of the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register. But the 36-year-old "persistently and deliberately ignored" these rules and police warnings.

Hart failed to comply with officers' requests after his release from prison on February 8 this year, having been jailed for a previous breach, until he was arrested on March 16. He admitted failing to comply with his notification requirements - the fourth time he had done so.

Hart, of no fixed address, was jailed for eight months.

Christopher Atherton

Christopher Atherton who turned up at his ex-partner's home wielding a machete said he "just wanted to see his son".

The 29-year-old sent threatening messages to the woman, who the ECHO chose not to name, and later tried to pressure her into withdrawing her statement. Atherton, of Ullswater Street, St Helens, admitted multiple breaches of a non-molestation order banning him from contacting the mother of his child, possession of a bladed article and intimidating a witness.

The woman was at home with her new partner last September when the windows on his car were smashed. They couldn't find the culprit but then a man knocked on the door and said Atherton was on the phone and wanted to speak to her.

When she refused, Atherton arrived, pulled his T-shirt over his head, pulled out a machete and chased her new boyfriend down the road. After his arrest and while on bail, he tried to intimidate the woman.

Atherton was jailed for 20 months.

Umar Hamid

Gang boss Umar Hamid ran a drug dealing "graft" phone line from behind bars at HMP Liverpool.

The 31-year-old was the leader of a drugs gang which ran two drugs lines - the Felix line and CCPP (cannabis, coke, powder and pills) line. Hamid is a convicted rapist who ran the CCPP line from behind bars at Walton prison.

Using an illegal mobile phone, Hamid directed the operation from his cell before his release in September 2019. Between 2018 and 2020, hundreds of text messages were sent to drug users in Hyndburn, Rossendale and Blackburn in East Lancashire on an almost daily basis.

Users were offered Class A and B drugs to "make your dreams come true". Hamid exploited a vulnerable drug user to test the drugs before they were offered for sale, and when a cannabis farm was raided, an innocent man was threatened with an imitation gun and his work van smashed up.

Hamid, formerly of Hazel Avenue, Darwen, admitted conspiring to supply Class A and B drugs. He was jailed for 10 years and 10 months.

Hamid is already serving a 22-year prison sentence for rape, after being convicted in February 2021.

Francis Ward

Francis Ward looked stunned as he was jailed for 25 years for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.

The 36-year-old refused to accept he raped one of the teenagers and sexually assaulted the other, even after being found guilty after a trial in March. The two girls and their families faced him down in court and celebrated as the sex attacker was led to the cells.

Ward, from Fox Street, Everton, committed his first attacks on one girl, before then targeting the second girl. One of the girls addressed the court, explaining how his attack had made her contemplate taking her own life. A statement from the second girl outlined similar psychological trauma.

Ward called the girls "liars" but a judge said he was satisfied he inflicted serious harm on them. Judge Robert Trevor-Jones jailed Ward for 18 years for the rape and sexual assault of one of the girls and for seven years for the sexual assault on the other.

Michael Crothers

Five members of a drug gang dubbed "Two-Hour Tony" were snared after police uncovered a packing den in Runcorn.

The gang was busted when police raided a flat on Waterbridge Mews in Castlefields on November 23 last year. Inside the Two-Hour Tony crew's "hub" officers seized 88.7 grams of crack and heroin, estimated to have a potential value of up to £9,680, plus mixing agents.

Michael Crothers, 25, of Heathgate Avenue, Speke, and Michael Bethell, 30, of Elstead Road, Walton were arrested at the scene. A table in the flat was "clearly" being used for drugs to be "adulterated and refilled in the packages" for onward distribution.

That same day police stopped a car driven by Alan Brewer, 41, of Colworth Road, Speke. He was with Liam Malvern, 21, of Townsend Lane, Tuebrook, in a vehicle that officers had seen arriving at the block.

Malvern had 26 £10 wraps of crack cocaine and one £10 wrap of heroin, plus £809 in cash. A fifth member of the group, Benjamin Humphries, 21, of Alderwood Avenue, Speke, was arrested separately. All five men admitted conspiring to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

A police drug expert estimated the illegal enterprise sold between half a kilo and a kilo of crack and heroin over the 50 days of the conspiracy. It had a potential value of up to £100,000 after mixing with adulterants.

Two "graft phones" sent a staggering 7,613 flare messages to potential buyers in Warrington from October 4 to November 23. Crothers, who controlled the phones, was jailed for six years and nine months.

Brewer acted as driver and would drop off Malvern and Humphries who sold drugs to users in their homes, before they would return to Waterbridge Mews to restock. Brewer was jailed for four and a half years.

Malvern was jailed for five years and seven months. Humphries was jailed for five years and three months.

Bethell also admitted assault causing actual bodily harm for punching a man outside The Cornerhouse pub in Widnes in the early hours of August 7 last year. Bethell was jailed for seven years and 10 months.

David Jones

Former teaching assistant David Jones used his position as a football coach to groom and sexually abuse a young boy.

Jones, described by a judge as a "serious risk to boys", first met the young child when he was working at his primary school as a teaching assistant. The 33-year-old took an "instant liking" to the child and invited him to join a football club he coached, with the young footballer doing so.

He began to groom him with text messages and lifts in his car with him integrating himself into the life of the boy's family. His parents innocently thought the friendship was good for their son and improved his confidence, but his sexual abuse of the young boy led to him attempting suicide and devastated his life.

Years later, in 2018, by which time Jones was a fully qualified teacher, he created a fake Instagram profile posing as an 11-year-old girl to contact a boy one year older, send him inappropriate messages and ask for naked photos. The boy told his mum, who contacted police, before officers traced the profile to Jones.

Jones, of Loxley Road, Southport, admitted inciting a child under 13 to commit a sexual act, in respect of the Instagram offence. He was found guilty of two counts of sexually assaulting the schoolboy footballer and causing him to engage in sexual activity.

He was jailed for three and a half years.

Ashley Moorcroft

Rolex watches, designer clothes and £70,000 in cash was seized when police raided the homes of three EncroChat dealers.

Ashley Moorcroft, aka "RustyPalace", was involved in importing cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamine, then supplying it across the UK. He worked closely with Jonathan McKeown, aka "BushTern", who brokered deals for the drugs up and down the country, and kept a "meticulously recorded" ledger, showing more than £1m in cash changing hands.

Painter and decorator Craig Murray, aka "MicroBlue" and formerly "ZanyForce", transported drugs and cash in vehicles with concealed "slots" or "hides". But the EncroChat hack of 2020 stopped them spreading "abject misery" for significant profits.

Moorcroft, 33, was arrested at his home in Halsnead, Wavertree on May 6, 2021, when his partner and children were present. Police seized an Audi, £8,925 in cash, four Rolex watches, one Kenevo specialised electric bike and charger, and designer clothing and shoes.

McKeown, 36, was arrested when officers raided his home in Marlborough Road, Waterloo that same day. They recovered £12,750 in cash.

Murray, 41, was twice arrested, firstly on June 17, 2020, when £36,710 was found at his Simonscroft, Netherton home. On May 6, 2021, officers struck again, when a further £14,000 in cash was seized.

All three men admitted conspiring to supply cocaine, cannabis and amphetamine. Moorcroft and McKeown also admitted conspiring to supply heroin.

Moorcroft was jailed for 19 and a half years, McKeown for 20 years, and Murray for eight and a half years.

Marcus Ellison

"Predatory paedophile" Marcus Ellison posed as a teen on Snapchat to lure a schoolgirl to a park and film himself having sex with her in bushes.

The 31-year-old told his 13-year-old victim he was only 16 and built up her trust in him before grooming her and encouraging her to have sex with him in Birkenhead Park and in disabled toilets at Pyramids Shopping Centre. When she told the 31-year-old to stop contacting her, he sent a video he had taken of them without her consent to school friends and it was later shared online.

A judge told Ellison he had "used and abused the girl" at his own will after meeting her in 2019. The abuse left the child devastated and he humiliated and further harmed her afterwards.

Ellison, of Hatherley Close, Toxteth, admitted meeting a girl following grooming, two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, causing a child to look at an image of sexual activity, engaging in non penetrative sexual activity with a girl, three counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl, plus one count of possessing, three counts of making, one count of taking and one count of distributing indecent images of a child.

He was jailed for nine years, with a further three years on extended licence.

Mohammad Azizi

Mohammad Azizi murdered his wife after he discovered her affair with a family friend.

Malak aka Katy Adabzadeh, 47, was battered to death by Azizi at their Stoneycroft home. Azizi used an unidentified weapon to inflict 11 head injuries, as the mum-of-one desperately tried to defend herself.

He trashed their apartment at The Green to make it look like it had been ransacked by an mystery attacker. He later returned with his son and let him find his mum "in a pool of blood" face down in the bath, on November 25 last year.

Iranian national Azizi had found out his wife was seeing married man Tooraj Khorshidi, who would visit to give her botox and lip fillers. That day she had planned to meet Mr Khorshidi at Edge Lane retail park then spend the night with him at a city centre hotel and her packed bag was found in her car.

Questioned about the affair, Azizi later told police: "Culturally in the past it was unacceptable this matter and you could be stoned to death." Azizi admitted murder.

He was jailed for life with a minimum of 16 years.

Christopher Chan

Chinese restaurant waiter Christopher Chan "persuaded" a 15-year-old girl to have sex with him after taking her back to his flat.

The 34-year-old took the victim back to his flat in Southport and had what the court was told was "consensual sexual intercourse" with her. On two of the occasions Chan, of Manchester Road, Southport, had given the child alcohol.

The girl said his behaviour affected her ability to concentrate at school and her grades, which spoilt her chances of attending Cambridge University. She began self-harming and took an overdose, and has since been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and is on medication.

Chan, who worked at Lings On Kings in King Street, Southport, was found guilty of four offences of engaging in sexual activity with a child involving penetration.

He was jailed for three years.

Philip Courtney

Philip Courtney spat in his ex-partner's face, called her a "f***ing rat" and sent threatening texts to one of her children.

The 37-year-old spat in the face of the mum, who the ECHO chose not to name, in front of two children, on February 7, 2022. Courtney then carried on with his "disgusting" behaviour and was abusive to one of the two young teenagers.

The three left and Courtney sent texts threatening one of the youngsters and the police were notified. The day after he was charged, he rang the woman and shouted abuse at her.

Then, after appearing in court, he left further threatening voicemail messages and tried to persuade a child witness to stay silent. Courtney, of Bowring Park Road, Childwall, admitted assault by beating and two counts of witness intimidation.

He was jailed for 10 months.

Melvin Miller

Child rapist Melvin Miller who filmed himself subjecting little girls to depraved abuse has admitted more sex attacks.

Miller, from St Helens, was jailed for 16 years in 2020 after molesting two girls - from the ages of six and 11 respectively - in a horrifying campaign of abuse. But it later emerged he had carried out other rapes on one of his victims.

Miller, who was found with more than 250,000 indecent images of children, filmed himself raping the girl for eight minutes. The new charges against the 46-year-old, who is serving his sentence at HMP Frankland in County Durham, came after fresh allegations from one of his victims.

Miller, of Mountsfield in Frome, Somerset, admitted three additional charges of rape, two of attempted rape and one of making an indecent video of a child. The judge jailed Miller for 15 years, concurrent to his existing sentence.

Joshua Morgan

Dad-of-four Paul Morgan was stabbed to death in front of his children by his nephew Joshua Morgan.

Joshua Morgan knifed his 39-year-old victim two times after his family had come over to celebrate his 21st birthday in Dingle. He rejected a hug from his uncle before following him across Prince William Street and launching the attack on September 19, 2020.

Joshua Morgan harboured resentment and jealousy towards the victim's children, as his own father died when he was just nine. His father had killed himself and the anniversary of his death had been just the day before the murder.

Joshua Morgan, who previously threatened to kill his uncle, has since been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and cannabis dependency disorder. However, a psychiatrist found that the attack was unrelated to his illness and Joshua Morgan, 22, of Prince William Street, Dingle, admitted murder.

He was jailed for life with a minimum of 17 years.

William Ormandy

William Ormandy raped a teenager behind Lime Street Station.

The 31-year-old approached and started talking to his 18-year-old victim just before 2am on Sunday, February 6 this year as she walked alone towards a taxi rank. Ormandy said "you're gorgeous" and tried to kiss her, but the woman said she wanted to go home and that she was only 18.

He pulled her into an alleyway and raped her, then walked away, before she sought help from three women passing by. When arrested, Ormandy claimed he consensually kissed the victim three times and denied raping her.

Ormandy, of Church Road, Halewood, who had a history of violence against women, later admitted rape. He was jailed for eight years and three months, with an extended four years on licence.

Ryan Frederick

Police found a gun hidden under the bedroom floorboards of St Helens drug dealer Ryan Frederick's home.

The 22-year-old was in his living room after a smoke with associate Nathan Mullen, also 22, when police burst in. Officers discovered 23 bags of cannabis scattered around the pair, as well as the modified firearm upstairs.

It was an Italian made Glock-type gun that fired blanks, however it had been shortened and re-bored so it could fire live rounds. Police also found scales, almost £1,300 in cash and a bag of the adulterant benzocaine.

Frederick admitted possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing cannabis with intent to supply. He was jailed for six years and two months.

Michael Cullen

Sex attacker Michael Cullen preyed on a sleeping boy in a tent.

The 36-year-old, of Catherine Street, Widnes, faced justice after jurors convicted him at trial of engaging in sexual activity with a child and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He had displayed "elements of planning and grooming behaviour" before abusing the young teenager.

The child woke to find Cullen molesting him. The boy was left struggling to sleep and said his relationships were affected by his ordeal.

Cullen was jailed for three years.

Ryan Holland

Ryan Holland was caught with 95 wraps of heroin in his boxer shorts but denied he was involved in County Lines drug dealing.

Police arrested the 31-year-old as he left a block of flats in Llandudno, North Wales last January. Officers, who had noticed he smelt strongly of cannabis, took him to Llandudno Police Station where he was found to have Class A drugs and £2,100 in cash.

Holland, of Borough Road, Wallasey, claimed not to be involved in County Lines dealing. But along with the £1,100 heroin stash, the dad-of-two was also hiding 70 knotted packets of crack cocaine, valued at £700.

Holland, who was also carrying 140 diazepam tablets, admitted two counts of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.

He was jailed for four and a half years.

Shaun Clare

Shaun Clare stole a nurse's purse from inside a hospital then went shopping with her bank cards.

The 32-year-old, of Plumpton Mews, Widnes, was snared after the victim, who worked at Warrington Hospital, contacted police at 11.40am on April 26. Clare admitted non-dwelling burglary and three counts of fraud by false representation.

He also admitted breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order, two counts of theft from a shop and another non-dwelling burglary. He was jailed for 36 weeks.

Harry O'Brien

Harry O'Brien, 16, led a mob of teenage thugs in three shootings and a terrifying arson attack.

He controlled a "graft" line and a crew of dealers selling cannabis on the streets of Dingle. But his "lucrative" trade was exposed after a "feud" led to three shootings in three weeks in South Liverpool.

One attack saw bullets fired from an Audi at a BMW, as the two cars raced side-by-side through the city at night on December 29, 2020. A stray bullet flew through the front door of an "entirely innocent" family's home in Dingle Lane and landed on their hallway stairs.

A gunman on an electric bike peppered a family's living room with bullets in Sundridge Street on January 8 and fired into another victim's bedroom in Beloe Street on January 20. Finally, O'Brien had petrol poured through the letterbox of a mum's home and set ablaze, as she and her children ran for their lives, in Dingle Lane on February 1.

Police also raided the home of Nathan Kelly, a customer of O'Brien's gang, on April 21. Officers found a .22 rimfire revolver loaded with eight bullets in a disused fish tank on his balcony and further ammunition.

For three days, Nathan Kelly had agreed to store O'Brien's "graft" phone and answer it, plus look after a motorbike, helmets and a petrol can. In communal gardens outside, police recovered a New Army 1892 Colt .41 revolver.

O'Brien, now 17, of Buckland Street, Aigburth, admitted conspiring: to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence; to commit arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered; and to supply cannabis. He was locked up for nine years and eight months, with an extended three years on licence.

Daniel Lawler, then 19 but now 21, of Halewood Road, Woolton, was found guilty of the firearm plot and admitted unrelated charges of dangerous driving and handling stolen goods. He was locked up for eight years, with an extended two years on licence.

Michael McClean, now 18, of Upper Warwick Street, Toxteth, admitted the cannabis and firearm plots. At trial he admitted two counts of possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing ammunition. He was locked up for eight and a half years.

Aaron Donohoe, then 19 but now 20, of Bewey Close, Toxteth, admitted the cannabis and firearm plots, on the basis he was only involved in the first shooting. He was locked up for six years and four months.

Jurors couldn't reach a verdict against Sian Kanu, then 19 but now 20, of Amity Street Toxteth, on the arson plot. He later admitted participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group. He was locked up for two years and three months.

Nathan Kelly, then 27, but now 28, denied conspiracy to supply cannabis, two counts of possession of a prohibited firearm - relating to the two guns - and possession of ammunition. He was cleared in respect of the gun found in the garden, but convicted of the three other charges after a trial. He admitted breaching a suspended sentence imposed last April for possession of a bladed article. He was jailed for seven years.

Shaun Kelly, then 35 but now 36, of Harefield Road, Speke, had sold O'Brien the Audi A1 used in the first shooting. The car was taken in a burglary at a family's home in Whimbrel Close, Runcorn on November 30, 2020. He admitted handling stolen goods and also unrelated matters of aggravated unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle, theft, five counts of fraud, two counts of burglary and breaching a suspended sentence for dangerous driving. He was jailed for three and a half years.

James Mercer

James Mercer collected nearly 2,000 "horrific" child rape and abuse images.

He was hit with a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) in 2013 after he was caught with a sick stash of indecent images of children. But when officers performed a routine check on his computer equipment as part of the SOPO, they discovered another library of "appalling" photos.

The 41-year-old, of Ashburn Avenue, Tower Hill, Kirkby, later admitted possessing 1,997 indecent images of children. Mercer admitted downloading 368 Category A images, plus 323 Category B and 1,306 Category C files, between May 16, 2018 and March 17, 2021.

He also pleaded guilty to possessing seven prohibited [cartoon or animated] images of a child. Mercer was jailed for 12 months.

Joshua Corless

Joshua Corless raped a university student then filmed a video of a 16-year-old girl being sexually abused and shared it online.

The 23-year-old predator targeted a drunk university student who had only been away from home for a few weeks and offered to help her get home. He attacked her shortly after, overpowering her and raping her. In a separate incident, he threatened and coerced a 16-year-old girl to have sex with a vulnerable man in Widnes and filmed it before sharing it on TikTok.

Corless admitted distributing indecent images of children, but denied making indecent images of children and causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, which he was convicted of after a trial. He admitted rape. Judge Gary Woodhall jailed him for 13 years and said: "You have no regret, remorse or shame about what you have done."

Anthony Reilly

Anthony Reilly was caught with £80,000 of cocaine just months after his release from prison.

Anthony Reilly spent 18 months on the run from Merseyside Police after sickening assaults on a woman, when he poured boiling water on her. At the time, he made his victim's life "a living nightmare" with threats so sinister, she even wore a wig to disguise herself in public.

He was jailed for three and a half years in March 2020, and served around half of that time in custody, before being released on licence. However, by February this year, Reilly was involved in serious crime again in his new home in Ulverston, Cumbria.

Undercover officers from Cumbria Police's drugs squad collared him with a plastic bag containing around a kilo of "high-purity" cocaine. The 24-year-old, formerly of St Helens and Wallasey, but now of Theatre Street, Ulverston, later admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine.

He was jailed for five years and three months.

Natasha Hanson

Two drug dealers ran a 'drugs call centre' as part of a County Lines operation.

Natasha Hanson and Khristopher Burton ran the 'Paddy line', supplying Class A drugs from Merseyside to the Shrewsbury area, during 2019 and 2020. Officers investigating the supply raided an apartment in Lockerby Road, Kensington, on January 17 last year.

In the pocket of Hanson's dressing gown there they found a mobile phone receiving calls and texts. Officers also discovered cannabis and behind a bath panel they discovered a stun gun on which their DNA was found. A "graft" phone, two iPhones and a "tick list", referring to cocaine and heroin, were also found.

Hanson, 32, and Burton, 42, of Bird Street, Wavertree, were released pending investigation. On October 7, 2021 police on patrol in Shrewsbury saw Hanson riding a bike.

In a plastic bag in her bra was 28 wraps of crack cocaine and 23 wraps of heroin, worth £510 in total. She had £95 in cash, a bank card and a phone connected to the Paddy line.

Hanson and Burton both admitted being concerned in supplying heroin and cocaine and possessing the stun gun. Burton was jailed for three years.

Hanson also admitted possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to supply and being concerned in supplying those drugs. She was jailed for six years.

Aidan Dansie

Aidan Dansie stamped on a teenager's head before bragging "that little doughnut got put to sleep".

He stamped on a 17-year-old boy so hard he knocked him out and left behind a footprint in a vicious city centre assault. Dansie, 30, had punched the stranger to the ground on a night out in Liverpool city centre in a sudden and unprovoked attack.

He struck near Baa Bar in Fleet Street just before 1.30am, in an attack captured on CCTV. The thug later claimed the teenager had threatened him with a knife - a lie a judge rejected as "ridiculous" - on September 12, 2020.

Dansie, of Leatfield Drive, Derriford, Plymouth, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm. He was also convicted of attacking two emergency workers two months after the assault on the teenager.

Dansie was jailed for 16 months.

Sarah Kirby

Sarah Kirby was so engrossed in "ferociously" attacking her friend in a lift she didn't realise she had abandoned her toddler son.

She had her son on her hip when she began assaulting Molly Culshaw, 36, and floored her, in a shocking attack caught on CCTV. The mum-of-two then put the toddler in his buggy and used it to run over the victim, who was on the floor, before pushing it outside the lift.

She then went back to kicking, punching and stamping on her helpless friend and hitting her with a piece of wood, seemingly unaware that the doors had closed and the lift had moved off, on May 18 last year. The 36-year-old, of Sandy Road, Seaforth, admitted assault by beating.

She also admitted breaching a 13-month suspended sentence imposed in September 2020. That was for a racially aggravated assault on a taxi driver.

She was jailed for 12 months.

Gerrard Foott

Drunken arsonist Gerard Foott told police "lock me up" when they arrived to arrest him for setting fire to his own home.

He admitted arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered. The 54-year-old said he started a blaze in a utility room paint cupboard at his home in Sextant Close, Murdishaw, Runcorn after he'd glugged down "12 cans".

When Foott initially called 999 to report the fire on November 9, he claimed not to know how it began, only for the call to go dead. Foott then rang again and confessed.

Four fire engines were called to tackle the blaze and Foott was taken to hospital, suffering from smoke inhalation, where he spent three days. The fire caused "severe smoke damage" to the two-storey terraced house and fire damage in the store room.

Foott, who had past convictions including robbery and violence, was jailed for three years and four months.

Saeed Ahmed

Saeed Ahmed shot at a home where children were living while high on cocaine and booze.

The 40-year-old, who said he was looking after two weapons and ammunition for drug dealers, shot one of the guns immediately after a man had fled his flat. When police arrived in Wellington Road, Wavertree on the morning of December 17 last year, they found a strike mark from a bullet on the wall of a family's home.

Ahmed, who lived in the street, tried to flee on an electric scooter but was arrested. His flat was searched and two women were found there, but no weapons.

A cartridge was discovered on the pavement outside his home and a bullet in the garden of a nearby house. The next day, a police dog handler found a North Face rucksack on open land behind Wavertree Sports Centre.

It contained a loaded black Glock pistol fitted with a magazine, plus a Zoraki gun. There were another 37 bullets and a silencer and the defendant's DNA was found on both weapons, which had the serial numbers removed.

Ahmed, now of Eversley Street, Toxteth, admitted possessing the Glock with intent to cause fear of violence, and possessing a prohibited weapon, the Zoraki. He had past convictions including a robbery conspiracy and was subject to a four-month suspended prison sentence for possessing a knife.

He was jailed for seven years, with an extended three years on licence.

David Lavender

David Lavender murdered his dad just days before his 80th birthday in an unprovoked attack.

He drank heavily before battering his father with a glass kettle last December and fleeing their Old Swan home. A judge said 79-year-old Anthony Lavender's death at the hands of his son was "a tragedy beyond words".

Lavender, 37, had been living at his dad's Woodhall Street home since returning from London during the covid pandemic. He had been drinking heavily on the evening of December 29 before he picked up a glass kettle and hit his father multiple times across the head, causing injuries to his eyebrow and cheek.

The victim called 999 to report the attack, but when officers arrived he was unconscious on the stairs. His son had fled the house, speeding away in his black Audi before he crashed it on the Queens Drive flyover a short time later and was taken to Aintree Hospital.

Lavender, who said he didn't know why he killed his dad, admitted murder and was jailed for life with a minimum of 14 years.

Gareth Davis

Gareth Davis filmed himself raping a baby in sex attacks a judge said were the worst he had ever seen.

The 43-year-old, of Ashridge Street, Runcorn, was arrested after the National Crime Agency (NCA) discovered indecent photographs had been uploaded to a Google account in his name. NCA investigators had suspicions Davis featured among the 512 child abuse images and raided his home.

He was arrested and his Samsung phone seized. Enquiries established some of the images were of Davis himself abusing a baby.

He had shared some of his depraved collection online with other paedophiles and simulated strangulation with a child doll. He admitted rape of a child under 13, sexual assault by penetration of a child under 13, and three counts of making indecent images: 36 of the most heinous type Category A, 382 Category B, and 94 Category C.

Judge Steven Everett, the Recorder of Chester, jailed him for life with a minimum of 27 years.

Stuart Cornmell

Stuart Cornmell broke a restraining order stopping him from seeing his parents for a ninth time when he burgled their home.

The 32-year-old was banned from going to the address in Peter Mahon Way, Bootle, "due to a previous domestic incident". The order also barred him from contacting them.

But on June 18 last year a neighbour saw Cornmell trying the door handle of the family home. He was then seen to climb through a first floor bedroom window and after about two minutes he was seen to leave out of the front door.

Cornmell returned 20 minutes later and entered and left again. He took £50, a £400 gold bracelet and a crate of beer. His parents didn't report it to the police and said they would give him his Universal Credit money if he returned the bracelet,

However, he failed to, became angry and was reported to the police. Cornmell later admitted the burglary and has since been jailed for three years and nine months for robbery.

He was jailed for 12 months to run consecutively.

Thomas Cawley

Thomas Cawley pinned down a teenage boy before hitting him in the face over and over again with a hammer.

The 32-year-old attacked his 17-year-old victim outside the Red Lion Pub in Robins Lane, St Helens, at around 7.45pm on Monday, November 19 last year. Cawley poured a household corrosive substance over his victim before pinning him down.

Once pinned down, he hit the teen in the face over and over again with a hammer and threatened him with a knife. The victim was left with extensive bruising, cuts and facial swelling and lost two teeth in the attack.

Cawley, of no fixed address, admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He was jailed for eight years and one month.

Adam Higginson

Catcalling thug Adam Higginson knocked a woman out after she confronted him over his "disgraceful" comments.

Higginson and another man made Maeve Brooks feel intimidated and frightened when she was walking home alone. But she decided to stand up to the drunken friends.

They continued taunting her until she aimed a kick at Higginson's shin. After kicking her back in the body, Higginson pursued the retreating woman and punched her to the head, leaving the victim with a permanent scar by her mouth.

The incident took place outside the Railway pub in Birkenhead Road in Meols, Wirral at around 11pm on June 12 last year. Higginson, 32, of Shelley Street, Bootle, who has a history of violence, admitted wounding.

He was jailed for 18 months.

Ramijah Hindes

Sex predator Ramijah Hindes handed himself into police after reading a story in the ECHO appealing for information about him.

The 21-year-old sexually assaulted a teenage girl on her way home from a chip shop in Garston on March 17. He grabbed the 17-year-old and subjected her to a violent sexual assault, before she managed to break free and he ran off.

After turning himself in, Hindes was arrested and charged with sexual assault, but he initially denied he had sexually assaulted the victim and instead claimed he was attempting to rob her. Hindes' phone was seized and he was found to have searched for violent and underage pornography on the device.

He admitted sexual assault. Hindes was jailed for three years and nine months.

Mohammed Mohammed

Mohammed Mohammed set fire to a young family's home on the orders of a 16-year-old gang boss.

He was a cannabis dealer for Harry O'Brien - the baby-faced yob behind three terrifying shootings and a firebombing. Mohammed, then 19, carried out the arson attack for O'Brien by pouring petrol over the front door of a mum's home and setting it ablaze.

The victim and her children were having breakfast when flames engulfed their address in Dingle Lane. They ran for their lives as the fire spread from their hallway to the staircase and upstairs.

Mohammed, now 20, carried out the arson attack at around 8am, on February 5, 2021. But he left a petrol canister outside the house and its screw cap contained his DNA.

The young crook, who also supplied cannabis for O'Brien from February 17 to March 26, 2021, admitted conspiring to commit arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered and conspiring to supply cannabis.

He was locked up for five years.

Vicki Bevan

Vicki Bevan organised the rape and sexual abuse of a young girl alongside two men and told them there were "no boundaries".

The 37-year-old carried out some of her appalling sexual fantasies alongside Paul Rafferty, 62, and Tony Hutton, 42, by raping and abusing a young girl. Bevan also spent time discussing with another man their desire to "kidnap, rape, torture, kill and then eat children" after sexually abusing them.

The three paedophiles from St Helens were all involved in the systematic abuse of a girl. She was asked by one of the men at one point if she had any boundaries and she answered: "No, none at all…"

Images of the abuse were found on Bevan's phone. They were shared between the three and also by Bevan to other perverts online on Kik Messenger.

Their sick crimes came to light when a fourth man was arrested on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children. His phone was examined and images of the abuse carried out by Bevan discovered, before police recovered a video showing Bevan sexually abusing the child.

Bevan, of Napier Street, St Helens, admitted one count of raping a child under 13; five counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration; two counts of sexual assault on a child under 13; one count of sexual activity with a child; and one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. The rape, one of the counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration and one of the counts of sexual assault on a child under 13 were carried out jointly with Rafferty, of Fry Street, St Helens.

One of the other counts of sexual assault of a child under 13 involved Bevan and Hutton, of Liverpool Street, St Helens, both performing a sex act on the victim. Bevan also admitted 17 counts of making and three counts of distributing indecent images of children, plus two counts of possessing extreme pornography.

Rafferty admitted one count of raping a child under 13; one count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration; one count of sexual assault of a child under 13; and six counts of making indecent images of children. Hutton pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault of a child under 13 and three counts of making indecent images of children.

Bevan was jailed for life with a minimum of 10 years. Rafferty was jailed for 10 years with an extended four years on licence. Hutton was jailed for four years.

Stephen Crook

Coked-up brute Stephen Crook made his girlfriend live her life "on edge" and "always waiting for the next assault".

He sobbed as a court heard how for seven years he subjected his partner to "consistent abuse". The 32-year-old would punch, kick, strangle and spit at his victim.

Much of the abuse centred around Crooks' demands for cash for cocaine or to pay off drug debts. He even threatened to "chop off her head and put it in a box".

The woman, who the ECHO chose not to name, said Crook, of Exeter Street, St Helens, wouldn't let her shower or go to the toilet alone, have friends or contact with family, or go on social media. On February 21 this year, when she didn't answer his demands for money for cocaine, he threw a cupboard door that had come off its hinges at her.

Crook then put his hands around her throat and squeezed her neck. He continued until her nose began to bleed. He admitted controlling and coercive behaviour between 2015 and 2022 and assault causing actual bodily harm, in relation to the February 21 attack.

Crook was jailed for two years and three months.

David Welsh

David Welsh who dragged an 81-year-old woman down the road "like a rag doll" asked a judge to give him the maximum sentence.

The 22-year-old interrupted his sentencing hearing to apologise for his behaviour. Welsh relapsed into drug use after his dad's cancer diagnosis and tried to grab the pensioner's handbag so he could feed his habit.

The victim determinedly hung onto her bag, which was wrapped around her body, despite him kicking her as she lay on the road between two parked cars. People nearby heard her screams for help and came to her aid. Welsh was detained and arrested.

Welsh, of Vanbrugh Road, Walton, admitted attempted robbery over the incident, at around 4pm on February 10 this year, in Priory Road, Anfield. The court heard he has mental health problems and was the son of a crack addict who was put in care as a toddler.

Judge Gary Woodhall accepted Welsh was genuinely remorseful and took into account his "tragic, traumatic extreme upbringing". He pointed out that it did not excuse his behaviour, but his duty was to impose the least possible sentence commensurate with his offending and jailed him for three years and eight months.

Thomas Wright

A Huyton joiner was part of a gang who transported heroin and crack cocaine between Liverpool and Wrexham.

The group was blown apart after officers busted several doors and discovered the true scale of the operation. Seven of the 11 members of the Wrexham-based crew were sentenced this week, including "trusted" courier Thomas Wright.

They were operating a major drug supply chain over roughly a year between March 2020 and 2021. Their patch was predominantly in and around Wrexham, a place that the judge said was already "suffering greatly" from a drug problem.

Thomas Wright, 44, of Fairfield Avenue, Huyton, was branded as the "upstream supplier". Wright - who sourced "kilos upon kilos" of hard drugs for the gang to shift in the Wrexham area and was convicted of being part of the Class A drug conspiracies - was jailed for 10 years.

His defence barrister, Julian Nutter, claimed the "respectable" joiner was threatened into joining the trade. It was said he had been "forced" to work for criminals higher up the drugs supply chain.

Ethan Birch

Social media cyber groomer Ethan Birch drove to Widnes with children's underwear in the boot to meet an '11-year-old girl'.

The 20-year-old turned up at the car park of the DCBL Stadium on Lower House Lane, Widnes, on Friday, January 21, with "knickers and crop tops" and a change of boxer shorts for himself after 10 days of messages online including sexual incitement and sending obscene images of himself.

Unbeknown to Birch, of Little Lowes Meadow, Lowton, Warrington, the supposed child was really an adult decoy out to snare paedophiles preying on the young online. When Birch arrived, adults from a group called Cobra UK confronted Birch and rang Cheshire Police, who arrived and arrested him.

Birch admitted five counts of attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, attempting to meet a child following grooming, attempted sexual communication with a child, and attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual communication.

He was locked up for four years and eight months.

Steven Mallon

Jewellery shop robber Steven Mallon was tackled to the ground by police after being hit by an SUV while fleeing.

CCTV footage of the "blatant and audacious" raid - carried out in front of passers-by - was played in court after the only gang member caught appeared for sentencing. Mallon's five accomplices leaped onto two motorcycles when police rushed to the scene, Rebecca's Jewellery Shop in Southport, taking the other bike out of action.

Mallon was tackled to the ground and arrested when he tried to flee on foot and was knocked over by a small SUV. The raid was carefully pre-planned and the gang was equipped with an angle grinder, axe, hammer and crowbar.

The "clearly organised" burglary happened just after 9pm on Monday, March 21 this year. Three of the men, all in black and wearing helmets, waited on the motorbikes while the others, including Mallon, were involved in breaking in during an estimated £80,000 raid.

One of them used an angle grinder, from which large showers of sparks were seen, to cut through the metal shutter and then a grille inside the shop. Mallon, 43, of Briarwood Road, Aigburth, admitted robbery.

He was jailed for two years and eight months.

David Houghton

David Houghton jumped into the Manchester Ship Canal after speeding the wrong way up the M6.

At 1.17pm on Wednesday, April 6 this year, officers spotted a white Volkswagen Transporter on the M6 southbound near to junction 21 at Woolston Interchange. Intelligence suggested the driver of the van, Houghton, 43, did not have a licence and officers tried to stop the van.

He pulled off the motorway onto the A57 roundabout and appeared to stop for officers. However, he then made off at speed.

Houghton drove the wrong way down the M6 on two occasions and travelled at speeds well above the 50mph limit. Despite abandoning a chase on two occasions due to the manner of his driving, officers followed Houghton from a safe distance to the A50 Knutsford Road.

Houghton eventually turned off onto Thelwall Lane, a dead-end road. He abandoned his vehicle and fled before jumping into the Manchester Ship Canal. He was arrested as he got out of the water on the other side.

Houghton, of no fixed address but from Liverpool, admitted dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen. He was jailed for 16 months.

Lisa Fletcher

Burgling mum Lisa Fletcher wept as she was led to the cells for a jail term which means she might not see her father alive again.

Fletcher and her then partner Lee Owens stole more than £1,200 of stock from an independent shop in Maghull last year. The couple were caught after an off duty police officer spotted them in an Indian restaurant and recognised them from CCTV.

The pair targeted Ryat Menswear on Moreton Way on November 21, waiting until the owner went out to get lunch before ransacking the shop in the space of a minute. They took £1,285 in stock from the shop.

Police found CCTV of the pair but were unable to locate them until the next month, when an off-duty officer went for a meal at a restaurant with his partner. He spotted the thieves at another table and rang the police.

Owens tried to pickpocket another diner and the officer got him on the floor before he and his girlfriend were arrested. The couple, both of Drake Crescent, Fazakerley, admitted burglary and Fletcher told the court she cared for her father who is seriously ill with cancer.

Owens was jailed for three years and a tearful Fletcher for 16 months, as she moaned through tears: "But my dad is going to die."

Gary Stanley

A man found a loaded gun at the bottom of his garden after two thugs threatened to shoot him.

The homeowner disturbed the masked men lurking outside his house in Childwall. They issued the chilling threat before fleeing on a motorbike.

When he searched around his property, the victim spotted a holdall in woodland backing onto his address. It contained a Russian semi-automatic pistol - bearing the DNA of fugitive crack dealer Gary Stanley.

Stanley dived off a boat into a canal in a futile attempt to swim away from police when caught by officers in June 2020. He was wanted at the time for crimes including threatening to skin his ex-girlfriend alive and biting her.

Stanley, of Kingsland Road, Norris Green, was jailed for five years that summer. He was back in the dock in connection with the discovery of the firearm, in Lanfranc Close at around 7.20pm on February 14, 2020.

He wasn't located until June 17 that year, when he jumped off a boat into the Leeds and Liverpool canal at Burscough. Stanley, now 33, admitted possessing a prohibited firearm and possessing ammunition without a certificate.

He was jailed for six years.

Behnam Tavakoli-Juibari

Behnam Tavakoli-Juibari who helped run a £9m plot to distribute cocaine across Britain kept details of his gang's deals in notebooks.

He acted as the bookkeeper for a crew responsible for shifting huge amounts of Class A drugs. The 37-year-old is the last of the gang to be sentenced but was finally jailed after being extradited from the Netherlands and admitting his role in the plot.

The group supplied hundreds of kilos of drugs in England, Wales and Scotland throughout the first half of 2016, with eight members jailed for a total of 106 years in May 2018. The plot, which focused on the supply of cocaine but also included heroin, MDMA, and diazepam, was mainly run from the Wirral, but collapsed after Merseyside Police's Operation Wessex.

Officers raided an address used by the group, seizing a £1.4m stash including more than 9kg of cocaine, 7kg of unadulterated heroin, 10,000 MDMA pills and 11,000 diazepam tablets.

Bookkeeper and courier Tavakoli-Juibari, of Woodlands Avenue, New Brighton, admitted his role in the plots. He was jailed for 15 years.

Peter Neild

Peter Neild who recorded himself sexually assaulting a toddler was caught out by police who recognised his tattoos.

His attacks on the little girl came to light after police found a phone hidden in the headrest of a chair in his Little Sutton home and matched his tattoos to those captured in the video. Officers had gone to arrest him on suspicion of downloading indecent images from the internet, but were faced with vile footage of Neild himself carrying out abuse.

The 50-year-old, who told police "I need help, I cannot continue like this", was labelled a danger to children after police raided his home on January 27 this year. Officers have since been able to identify the child and she and her family are being supported by social services. Neild admitted sexual assault against her.

Neild was also sentenced for an earlier set of sexual offences committed when he was living in Southport, when he was caught out by paedophile hunters trying to groom a young girl online and then arrange to meet her in 2018. He admitted attempting to meet a child following grooming, to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, to incite a child to watch sexual activity, and to engage in sexual communication with a child.

Neild, of Chester Road, Little Sutton, had previously been jailed for rape, unlawful sexual contact with a child and sexual assault of a child. He was jailed for 10 years and 10 months, with an extended five years on licence.

Harry Beardsmore

Harry Beardsmore cuckooed the home of two drug addicts and used their flat to package and sell Class A drugs.

A lockdown raid at a flat in Torquay saw police find Beardsmore and Brandon Murray packaging and selling heroin and cocaine. The legal tenants of the flat were drug addicts who lived in the bedroom while the two men slept in the living room.

More than 20g of cocaine and heroin was seized, along with £1,500 in cash, on June 22, 2020. Beardsmore, 21, of Bedford Road, Birkenhead, was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and possession of criminal property.

Beardsmore was jailed for four and a half years.

Paul Devine

Paul Devine threatened to stab a shop worker before smashing up his shop in a robbery sparked by a row over a mobile phone top up.

He launched the terrifying attack at the Day 2 Day convenience store in Everton Valley on December 20 last year, swinging a large kitchen knife at a terrified worker. The 34-year-old later told police he couldn't remember the incident and wept as he was shown footage of the chaos he caused.

Devine had asked to top up £10 on his phone. The money appeared to go from his account but he couldn't yet see it on his phone records and argued before leaving the shop, then returning in a drink and drug fuelled rage.

The dad-of-one, who shouted "I'll stab you, I'll stab you," admitted attempted robbery, possession of a bladed article and criminal damage. Devine, of Jason Street, Everton, was jailed for five years and three months.

Joseph Helps

Joseph Helps strangled his partner during brutal domestic abuse.

The 48-year-old, of Main Street, Halton Village, Runcorn, was arrested following the attack on the woman in Main Street on Saturday, May 14. Court papers said the offence was considered "so serious" and only custody would suffice because Helps had a "flagrant disregard for people and their property".

The court heard he had a history of domestic abuse, strangulation was involved, and he was already on a community order. He admitted assault causing actual bodily harm.

A three-year restraining order was imposed banning him from contacting his victim and visiting two named street addresses. Helps was jailed for 12 months.

Andrew Graham

Drug dealer Andrew Graham missed the birth of his first child after police caught him moving a block of crack cocaine from Liverpool to Scotland.

He hid 107g of Class A drugs in the wheel arch of his car as he tried to ferry it out of Merseyside, but officers discovered it after searching his car. They also found he and another man in the car, Justin Richmond, were dealing cannabis, on November 7, 2020.

Graham and Richmond's phones were seized and it then emerged both had been dealing cannabis on a low level for the preceding two months. Both admitted being concerned in the supply of Class B drugs and possessing cannabis, while Graham also admitted possessing crack cocaine with intent to supply.

Graham, 21, of Tiree Court, Dreghorn, was jailed for three years and two months. Richmond, 19, of Annick Drive, Dreghorn, was spared jail.

Aaron Rowe

Aaron Rowe who vandalised nine police vehicles could have put lives at risk, a senior police officer said.

The 36-year-old, of no fixed address, admitted threatening behaviour towards a woman in Widnes on March 11; two separate assaults by beating against two men on May 11 in Widnes; criminal damage to the ceiling of a Halton Borough Council disabled toilet on May 11; criminal damage towards nine police vehicles in Runcorn; and a supervision breach.

Court papers said the crime spree was "so serious" due to being committed while on licence, a domestic offence, assaulting people at work, and because of his previous criminal record. Cheshire Police said he could have put vital vehicles out of action, leaving patrols unable to get to incidents, which could be the difference between life and death.

He was jailed for 24 weeks.

Trevor Carr

A 12-year-old child was abducted outside of a busy train station and driven 120 miles away.

Trevor Carr, 40, and Ava Jones, 28, threw a blanket over the child's head and told them to turn off their phone so they couldn't be tracked. The pair abducted the child, who was in school uniform, at Wigan North Western railway station and drove to a campsite in North Wales.

The pair argued during the journey, with the police calling them during the drive, resulting in the child screaming. Jones put a hand over the child's mouth and told officers that her name was David Jones, and that she was camping in Ireland.

But when detectives tracked Jones' phone, they discovered they were at Fferm Cedris Farm Campsite in Abergynolwyn, North Wales. Jones had pitched up a tent and was staying in it with the child, in separate sleeping bags.

The child had started speaking with Jones online in September 2021, when they discussed gender identity. The child's gran told Jones to stop and warned her it was "grooming", but that October 4, Jones and Carr abducted the child.

Carr, of Burns Street, Bootle, and Jones, of no fixed address, both admitted abduction on the basis the crime was not sexually motivated. Carr was jailed for two years and Jones for two years and two months.

Ryan Blake

Scrambler yob Ryan Blake was caught with more than 2.5 kilos of MDMA but told police he was just holding it for his drug dealer.

Police seized around £100,000 of ecstasy when they raided his Hughes Street, Garston home in 2019. Yet in a bizarre claim, the 26-year-old told officers his own dealer, known simply as "Gary", had asked him to hold the colossal amount of the Class A drug - then never asked for it back.

A judge told Blake, who has been jailed before for a cowardly scrambler bike attack on police, his excuse was unbelievable. Police raided Blake's home on November 11, 2019, and found 2.62kg of ecstasy. The drugs, at 32% purity, were judged to have a street value of between £78,000 and £130,000.

Blake admitted possession of the MDMA with intent to supply but said his role was a minor one and he was actually just holding drugs for a dealer to whom he owed a £800 debt.

A judge rubbished his claims and noted he had a past conviction for drug dealing. Blake also admitted possessing cocaine with intent to supply, over a separate haul of eight wraps of cocaine, weighing 3.9g, found during a separate police search in July 2020.

He was jailed for seven years and 11 months.

John Neild

John Neild threatened to bury his girlfriend in a hole if she spoke out about his vile domestic abuse.

The 30-year-old attacked the woman - who the ECHO chose not to name - twice in separate attacks just over a month apart, trying to strangle her during the first incident and then knocking her out in the second, breaking bones.

Neild turned aggressive with his partner of nearly three years at home, at around 10pm on Boxing Day last year. He slapped the woman, tried to strangle her, then grabbed a kitchen knife and demanded their friends leave, before pushing her face down onto a bed. When she screamed, he threatened to bite her ear off.

On December 27 he made the threat to bury her and on February 4, after going out drinking, he attacked her, leaving her with facial fractures requiring surgery. Neild, of Barnes Close, Widnes, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm and threatening behaviour over the February 4 incident and assault causing actual bodily harm over the Boxing Day assault.

He was jailed for 16 months.

Joseph Byrne

Joseph Byrne who used the EncroChat handle "FoxHedge" blew kisses to his partner as he was being sent down.

Byrne was a drug broker and courier who supplied narcotics across the country. The 44-year-old was involved with at least 30 kilos of cocaine and heroin, as well as thousands of pounds of cannabis.

In one message he told another EncroChat user he was carrying £38,000 he owed when driving through a police stop check area. Byrne said: "It was heavvvyyy s*** myself."

When police raided his home in Radway Road, Huyton on July 15 last year they found passports, £7,000 in cash, cannabis and scales. Byrne admitted three conspiracies to supply drugs involving cocaine, heroin and cannabis between January 1 and June 4, 2020.

Byrne, whose previous convictions include conspiracy to supply amphetamine, was jailed for 12 years and nine months.

Michael Brandrick

Michael Brandrick and James Donnelly dealt cocaine and cannabis out of a car in a Toby Carvery car park.

They were caught out when police spotted them sitting in a Volkswagen Tiguan in the car park of the restaurant in Aigburth Road, Aigburth. The pub, formerly known as the Kingsman, was closed because of lockdown. The Tiguan was parked with its lights on next to another car with its lights on, on January 4 last year.

The car stunk of cannabis and when Brandrick, 30, was searched officers found two wraps of cocaine in his jacket pocket and two clear bags in his waistband which contained 13g of the same drug. He also had £300 of cannabis and his mobile phone was vibrating.

He was arrested and when strip searched at the police station a further four wraps of cocaine were found, before officers seized amphetamine at his home in Dovedale Avenue, Eastham. He had £1,700 of drugs in total.

When 37-year-old Donnelly's home in Arranmore Road, Mossley Hill was searched, police found a red bag containing £1,500 of heroin. A bag of £2,070 of cocaine was also found.

Brandrick admitted possessing cocaine and cannabis with intent to supply and possessing amphetamine. Donnelly admitted possessing heroin and cocaine with intent to supply.

Brandrick and Donnelly, neither of whom had previous convictions, were both jailed for two and a half years.

Allan Breen

Allan Breen who ploughed into a man trying to cross the road had more than seven times the legal limit of cocaine in his blood.

He also had his son in the car as he crashed into Paul Tyler on Prescot Road last year, putting him in hospital for four weeks. The 43-year-old dad, who was already serving a sentence for drug offences, was jailed for two years and eight months after admitting causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Amber Owen, 23, who was driving directly in front of Breen before the accident but swerved to avoid Mr Tyler directly before Breen crashed into him, admitted careless driving. Breen and Owen both stopped at a red light next to each other on the evening of April 14, before driving off at speed when it turned green.

The pair, who do not know each other, then turned on to Prescot Road and sped down it. Owen claimed she felt threatened by Breen and was trying to get away from him - but he denied this.

Breen was tailgating Owen's car and when she swerved to avoid the victim, Breen hit him, catapulting him across the road. Mr Tyler suffered open fractures to one of his legs, plus head and facial injuries, required two surgeries and spent a month in hospital.

Breen, of Regal Road, Croxteth, was jailed for two years and eight months. Owen, of Heather Brow, Claughton, was fined £450.

Anthony Byrne

A woman was in agony after her drunken partner poured a kettle of boiling water over her.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Anthony Byrne, 55, was in a relationship with his victim for three years at the time of the offence on March 8 this year. On the night of the attack his victim asked Byrne for the key to her house back due to his drinking.

He threw the key at her, she picked it up and went into the kitchen, but he followed and pushed her. He then picked up the kettle, which he knew had boiling water inside because she had told him so, and poured it on her, said Paul Blasbery, prosecuting.

Recorder Blakey said that as a result she suffered a scald burn and he said he had seen photographs showing "a substantial blister" on her back. He has previous convictions including harassing previous partners and the judge said that showed "a history of domestic abuse but nothing like this matter."

Byrne, formerly of Alpine Street, Newton-le-Willows, who had pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, was jailed for four years.

The judge imposed an indefinite restraining order on Byrne to keep away from the victim and Alpine Street.

Huw Thomas

A paedophile who sent dozens of messages to what he thought were young teenage girls was caught after vigilantes managed to get into the accommodation unit where he was living.

Huw Thomas didn't realise he was messaging self-described "paedophile hunters" as he sent a slew of vile messages to accounts he believed belonged to underage girls. Yet members of the Lancashire-based group, Fleetwood Enforcers UK, discovered the address he was living at and went there to try to catch the 46-year-old themselves.

It was only after they accosted other people living at the supported living unit and found out Thomas wasn't there that police were contacted about his behaviour.

The judge, Brian Cummings, QC, said that Thomas accepted he had a sexual interest and children and that this was dangerous but said he had only stopped when there was intervention from the police rather than through his own efforts. He said: "There was a level of persistence in that you continued offending after one of your phones was seized."

Thomas, of Queens Road, Southport, was jailed for three years and four months.

Luke Dwyer

A man who tried to take a flare into a Liverpool FC away match was jailed after twice breaching a suspended sentence.

Luke Dwyer was originally hauled before the courts last year after being convicted of dangerous driving while barred from getting behind the wheel. Despite being given a chance on that occasion, the 29-year-old went on to commit two more offences and cried in court today as he landed himself in prison for the first time.

Dwyer was described by the judge, Recorder Daniel Prowse, as having an "appalling" driving record and had narrowly avoided prison in 2021 after a judge handed him a 10-month sentence, suspended for 18 months.

He was then caught as he tried to get in to Selhurst Park with a flare to see Liverpool play Crystal Palace on Sunday, January 23 this year. Months later, officers also found him driving erratically and believed him to be under the influence of cannabis, though he refused to be tested. He later admitted driving while disqualified, failing to provide a sample and possession of cannabis, in addition to the offence at Selhurst Park.

Dwyer, of Sunnyside Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, was sentenced to a total of six months. That included an eight-week prison term for the offences committed earlier this month and four months of his suspended sentence.

He is also disqualified from driving for four years and banned from regulated football matches for three years. Dwyer cried at various points during the hearing but was emotionless as he was led to the cells.

Daniel Colebourne

A man dragged his mum from her bed and smashed her head against a wall in a brutal attack in their home.

Daniel Colebourne left Margaret Colebourne "black and blue" after a vicious assault in their home earlier this year. The 27 year old's actions were so serious a judge didn't just jail him but barred him from contacting her after she told prosecutors she never wanted to see him again.

Colebourne attacked his mum back in April last year, leaving her with an 8cm gash and extensive bruising across her head. He later claimed the injuries were caused by an accident but eventually admitted wounding as well as criminal damage for causing damage to his mum's fridge during the same incident.

Colebourne, of HMP Altcourse, was jailed for 18 months.

Peter Wilson

A paedophile's sick stash of child sex abuse videos included a half-hour film of him molesting a child.

Convicted sex offender Peter Wilson moved to Merseyside after being released from prison and going "missing". The 32-year-old was eventually tracked down to a hotel in Litherland.

Police discovered he had downloaded twisted files including a video of a baby being raped, which left a judge speechless when it was described in court. But a further movie showed Wilson himself sexually abusing a young girl - then turning to the camera to reveal his face.

The judge jailed him for five years, with an extended eight years on licence. This means Wilson must serve at least two thirds of the sentence - three years and four months - behind bars, before he can ask for parole.

However, he will only be released at that stage if the Parole Board considers he is no longer a risk. He will then be on licence for whatever remains of the five years, plus the extended eight years.

If he offends again, he could be recalled to prison to serve all of that time in jail.

James Gibney

A gang of thugs launched lit fireworks at Liverpool fans as they celebrated the Reds winning the Premier League in 2020.

James Gibney, 39; Peter Mallon, 20; Youssif Ahmed, 28; Quaynan Browne, 21; and Claire Rowson, 38, all appeared at Liverpool Crown Court for sentencing on Friday after they pleaded guilty to affray. A video compilation of their behaviour on the night of June 26 and the early hours of June 27, 2020, showed individual members throwing lit fireworks and other missiles, attacking police vehicles, fighting in the street, and at one point climbing all over a Greggs lorry which had been brought to a halt on a city centre street.

Each of the defendants were defended by their own counsel at the sentencing hearing, with the exception of Browne who chose not to be represented. They accepted responsibility and expressed remorse on behalf of their clients for the part they had played in the disorder that night, and blamed their actions on excessive drinking.

Recorder Mr David Knifton QC said: "The evening of June 26, 2020, should have been a proud day for many in this city, as Liverpool FC achieved a prize which had eluded them for 30 years, being crowned Premier League champions. Despite the strict Covid lockdown restrictions in place at that time, large crowds gathered illegally at the Pier Head on that day.

"By the evening, a 1,000-strong crowd had gathered, intoxicated and jumping on to the traffic. Officers attempted to disperse the crowd, but many were intent on remaining. The mood had changed from high-spirited celebration to a violent and angry scene.

"This was a case of serious or sustained violence which left people in severe fear or distress. Some were left hiding in doorways crying, attempting to avoid missiles being thrown.

"Each individual act of violence or disorder inflames or encourages others. Anyone engaging in mob violence must expect severe sentences to deter others. In my judgement your offences were so serious that nothing other than a custodial sentence can suffice."

Gibney, of St Paul's Close, Kirkby, was sentenced to 24 months' imprisonment, plus another 10 months for a separate offence of dangerous driving. Mallon, of Broad Lane, Kirkby, who is already serving a sentence for a separate offence of wounding, was given 18 months' detention in a young offenders institute, to be served in addition to his current five-year sentence.

Ahmed, of Fairfield Street, Kensington, who appeared by videolink from prison, was sentenced to 21 months plus another four for breach of a suspended sentence. Browne, of Kirkburn Close, Toxteth, was sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment, while Rowson, of Shaftesbury Avenue, Kirkby, was sentenced to 24 months' imprisonment.

Clare Roughley

A scammer who stole hundreds of thousands from her family left her dad saddled with a mortgage he didn't ask for just as he started his retirement.

Clare Roughley subjected her parents, grandparents and a woman she cared for to a vile campaign of theft over a number of years. The former bank employee was jailed back in October after admitting to using her insider knowledge to steal £325,000 from those who were supposed to trust her.

She set up online access to the accounts of her dad, Raymond Roughley, her mum, Delyn Roughley, and her nan, Theresa Leyland. Over a number of years, she drained their life savings to fund her escalating gambling addictions, as well as stealing thousands from a woman she was caring for.

In June, the 40 year old was back before a judge at Liverpool Crown Court to be sentenced for mortgage fraud carried out during the same period. Peter Hussey, prosecuting, told the court that during 2015 and 2016, the same period she was stealing from her parents, Roughley applied for and then took out a mortgage in her father's name to buy the home where her and her partner were living.

Roughley, who is already serving a lengthy prison term for the offences she was sentenced for last year, admitted mortgage fraud. She was sentenced to another 38 months in prison. However, that will be served concurrently with her other jail terms and means it will not affect her projected release from jail on licence in autumn 2024.

John Kirk

A drunken cocaine-fuelled thug's homemade petrol bomb exploded mid-air as he tried to take "revenge" against a nightspot that wouldn't let him in. Convicted heroin supplier John Kirk, 34, launched the attack at Chambers bar on High Street in Runcorn in the early hours of Sunday, March 6, after being barred entry to Chambers and Alchemy on the same street earlier that night.

Door staff at Alchemy bar had turned Kirk away at 10.30pm on Saturday, March 5, after seeing him argue with staff at another pub earlier on. Kirk, who later told his probation officer he had been drinking alcohol and had snorted a line of cocaine, responded by making "rude comments" and shouting abuse at door staff and bar workers.

Just over an hour and a half later he tried to enter Chambers but was rejected by the same staff. He became aggressive but appeared to agree when police intervened to get him to go home. However, he then filled an empty Pepsi bottle with fuel from a nearby Petrol station and launched the lit missile towards the doorman. Luckily, it exploded before reaching him.

Kirk, of The Hove, Murdishaw, Runcorn, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted arson with intent to endanger life. He was jailed for four years and 10 months.

Karl McDonough

A burglar conned his way into an elderly couple's home and stole thousands of pounds of jewellery by telling them he was a police officer investigating a previous break in.

Karl McDonough targeted Jean and Francis Hampson at their home in Everton early last year, stealing a "lifetime's worth of jewellery" from Mrs Hampson. McDonough cruelly suggested he was there to take photos to help catch the previous burglar yet he then rifled through a cupboard and found her jewellery box.

When the couple began to suspect him him he pushed past them and ran off into the street with many of her valuables. The court heard the Hampsons' Everton address had been targeted by burglars before and McDonough used information about that crime to gain their trust before managing to steal Mrs Hampson's jewellery box.

In a statement, she said she had also lost every piece of jewellery given to her by her husband, who has sadly since died. McDonough, formerly of the YMCA on Great Crosshall Street, was jailed for three years and nine months. A restraining order will also prevent him from contacting Mrs Hampson.

James McGowan

A drug dealer doused a woman in petrol from a Lucozade bottle before she went up in flames.

James McGowan threatened to set Kelly Quinn alight when she asked for drugs while already in debt. The 24-year-old thug then hit her over the head with an iron bar.

Prosecutors said conflicting accounts of what happened next meant they couldn't be sure if McGowan set her ablaze. But after weeks in a coma, she remembered waking up covered in bandages like an Egyptian "mummy".

Ms Quinn visited her drug dealer's flat on Southport's Derby Road on Boxing Day to try to get drugs but McGowan and his girlfriend Holly McCarthy later came round and argued with her over a debt. McCarthy hit Ms Quinn and McGowan, who had previously threatened to "set her alight", doused her in petrol.

Ms Quinn then left but the petrol, which is believed to have been ignited during the lighting of a cigarette, burned her seriously and put her in a coma.

He told McGowan: "Your intention must have been to terrify your victim in order to bring her into line." Jailing him for two years and 10 months, the judge said: "I accept you did not set her on fire but you must have realised by pouring petrol on someone who smokes serious harm was foreseeable - there was a risk of serious harm occurring and it did occur."

McGowan's girlfriend, Holly McCarthy, also admitted common assault and was handed an 18-month community order, with a 15-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 28-day home curfew in February.

Claire Newman

A mum stabbed two security guards as they tried to stop her stealing children's clothes from a Next shop in Liverpool.

Claire Newman slashed David Bailey with a Stanley knife in the chain's New Mersey Shopping Park store, leaving him needing 20 stitches in his arm. Mr Bailey's colleague Ian Grogan was also injured by Newman after she injured his hand with the blade.

The 34-year-old wept as a judge jailed her for the attacks on March 9 and a pair of thefts in which she stole designer handbags from the Selfridges in Manchester and assault a security guard there as well.

Jonathan Duffy, prosecuting, said Mr Bailey and Mr Grogan spotted Newman stealing baby clothes in the Speke shop and managed to stop her from getting away. The pair were not planning to call the police and wanted to take a picture of Newman so that she could be banned from the shop. However, after initially following them Newman became aggressive and agitated.

Mr Duffy said: "She shouted that she would stab David Bailey and it transpired that she had a Stanley knife on her person and she stabbed Mr Bailey, causing him a nasty injury on his forearm." Newman also caused a scratch on Mr Bailey's jaw and bit his other arm. In the scuffle, she also caught Mr Grogan with the knife,.

Newman later admitted wounding Mr Bailey with intent and wounding Mr Grogan without intent. She also pleaded guilty to theft and possession of a bladed article. Newman, of HMP Styal, was jailed for six years and five months.

Helena Robertson

A woman who was banned from lying in the road in 2019 is back behind bars after threatening to smash up a woman's house.

Helena Robertson, 45, of no fixed abode but from Runcorn, appeared at Warrington Magistrates’ Court following the offence. She pleaded guilty to "shouting and swearing" at her victim in breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO), threatening to smash up the woman's house, and failing to comply with her supervision.

Court papers said she was sentenced to 38 weeks in prison and ordered to pay a £156 surcharge, with the conviction regarded as "serious" because the "offence occurred in someone's home having been invited in", was committed during post-sentence supervision and due to her criminal record.

The incident took place in Runcorn. Robertson was made subject to a five-year CBO intended to curb her antisocial antics in May 2019 following a litany of nuisance behaviour.

Graham Handlon

A depraved dad begged undercover police to send him twisted pics and said: "I'm 100% paedo."

Graham Handlon thought he was talking to a fellow pervert online. But the 49-year-old was really chatting to a covert officer - just months after the deviant was previously spared jail for having a stash of sick images. The dad-of-two revealed he had bought an unregistered pay as you go phone "for all my paedo".

And he boasted: "There's no limits with me. I'm just a dirty c***, I’m just into everything. Everything and anything what goes. You know what I mean?"

Liverpool Crown Court heard Handlon, of Park Crescent, Southport, was handed a two-year community order in January 2020, after he was caught with child rape images. He was given a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

On November 30 that year he messaged the officer on web forum ChatIW stating "Hi m 47 peD north west no limits" and using the profile name "Bipedlknforbiped". Jamie Baxter, prosecuting, said: "Perhaps bi-sexual paedophile looking for another bi-sexual paedophile, if that's what bi-ped stands for."

Handlon sent him indecent photos and videos before claiming he "did" a girl when she was two. He sent more photos, boasting he had "100s", and asked the officer if he had any photos of his 11-year-old daughter - who the officer pretended to have sexually abused.

The officer said he was "cautious" who he shared images with, but Handlon replied: "I understand that bud, I’m 100% paedo bud." To prove his claims he sent more images and added: "I have vids too."

He sent three child rape videos to the officer, plus a video of himself performing a sex act. Police tracked his phone and found CCTV footage of him buying a top up voucher at the Spar in Roe Lane, Southport on November 7, 2020.

Officers raided his home on January 25, 2021. He handed over a phone and laptop, but didn't produce his Alba mobile, which was discovered hidden inside a plastic bag in his letterbox.

He admitted three counts of downloading, three counts of distributing and one count of possessing indecent images of children, plus possessing extreme porngraphy and breaching his SHPO. A judge jailed him for three years and 10 months. He made a new 15-year SHPO and told Handlon to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

Lauren Blaney

A mum ransacked her neighbour's home then tried to hide from police behind a bin.

Lauren Blaney "trashed" the house on Handfield Road while on bail for doing almost exactly the same thing to her ex-boyfriend's house months earlier. The 30 year old overturned a fish tank, stole a TV and smashed up numerous rooms during the bizarre incident last summer.

Zahra Baqri, prosecuting, said Blaney's then neighbour returned to his home during the afternoon of June 17, 2021. She said the front door was locked as normal but that he found the rooms inside "trashed".

Blaney was later seen running down the street and tried to hide from police behind a bin but was arrested later the same day and admitted burglary. Blaney's victim suffered financial losses of around £1,000 due to the burglary.

The court heard her offending was driven by drug and alcohol abuse. Jailing Blaney for 12 months, Judge Anil Murray appealed to her to continue with efforts to address her addiction issues while in prison.

Olivia Kamara

A drug dealer was found hiding in a bathroom with more than 150 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin during a house raid.

Olivia Kamara had a previous similar conviction and Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday, June 6 that she had not long been released from prison when she was caught again. The 26-year-old was found with Class A drugs after police raided a house on Lovely Lane in Warrington on the morning of September 9 last year.

Police raided the house after spotting another woman, Louise Butler, involved in a drugs transaction in Lovely Lane. Butler went back into the house on Lovely Lane where she was living with her "abusive and bullying" partner.

After a few minutes she re-emerged and walked towards Colin Street, reportedly to meet a drugs customer. But Butler was intercepted by police and wrestled to the ground. She then spat out five wraps of drugs.

Police then found Kamara was hiding in a the house with more drugs. She admitted possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply and was jailed for four years three months. Butler was sentenced to 23 months imprisonment but suspended it for two years

John Stanley

A man tricked a teen on a night out into getting in his car then drove her to a flat, locked her in and pinned her to the bed by her throat.

John Stanley targeted the 17-year-old in Liverpool city centre back in 2018. After telling the victim, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, that he needed help getting home, the former taxi driver launched an attack which a judge today said would "send a chill down the spine" of girls and women in the city.

Stanley, now 35, protested his innocence for years but is now behind bars after a jury at Liverpool Crown Court saw through his lies.

His trial heard Stanley manipulated the girl, coaxing her into his car and asking her to drive him home, crying when she said she couldn't do so. She eventually agreed to get in his car with her friend and the other man, to try to help him. However, Stanley then drove off, letting the girl's friend and the other man out the car.

Mr Gibson said that once they were alone Stanley's mood changed dramatically and he became aggressive. He refused to drive the girl home and instead took her to another house he was renting and said he would call a taxi.

The teen tried to contact a friend for help but didn't know where she was being taken. When Stanley parked the car she refused to get out and asked him to call her a taxi outside but he grabbed her by the head and dragged her into the flat, throwing her against a wall in the process.

After pinning her down and choking her on a bed she managed to escape by hitting him with a high heel and running out of the property. Stanley was jailed for 11 years after being found guilty of false imprisonment.

Alan Underwood

A burglar's campaign of harassment against a shop owner forced the man to sell his shop and move home.

Alan Underwood burgled Prescot Mobiles & Computer Services back in 2019, causing around £1,000 damage to the shop in the process. Yet when owner Shakir Ur Rehman recognised Underwood on CCTV and challenged him about the burglary Underwood threatened him and terrorised his shop for weeks.

The 40 year old's campaign against Mr Rehman came before he launched a sickening attack on another shop worker in Prescot, throwing scalding hot coffee at her. Underwood, of HMP Altcourse, was jailed for three years. A restraining order will also prevent him from contacting the shop owner for seven years.

Tyrone Grimes

A drug dealer who hid 58 wraps of crack and heroin in his bum said he strayed into peddling Class As to cope with having to pay for his mum's funeral.

Tyrone Grimes, 25, was arrested by police after they spotted him carry out a suspected drug deal in the Widnes on May 11 this year. Paul Wood, prosecuting at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, said officers pulled over a Citroen Berlingo on Hale Road and arrested the driver, Grimes, who "tried to struggle".

The officer also seized a "burner" phone from Grimes's pocket. At Cheshire Police's northern custody suite, officers strip-searched Grimes.

Grimes was recalled to prison on licence after his arrest in Widnes, and pleaded guilty at Chester Magistrates’ Court on May 12 to two counts of possession with intent to supply a Class A drug, namely heroin and crack cocaine, and one of acquiring or using criminal property.

Grimes was initially charged with assaulting an emergency worker in relation to his arrest in Widnes on May 11 but the count was ordered to lie on file on Thursday. He was jailed for three years and four months in prison. The sentence had been reduced by a third from five years to reflect credit for Grimes's guilty pleas.

Craig Walker

A drug dealer told police the drug bags found in his house were "to hold chicken nuggets".

Craig Walker's bizarre attempts to get out trouble came as he was caught by police with 70 wraps of crack cocaine down his trousers just weeks after being released from jail. A judge at Liverpool Crown Court warned him he was at risk of wasting his life if he didn't stop dealing Class A drugs to fund his own addiction.

Anthony O’Donohoe, prosecuting, said police spotted Walker, 30, during a suspected drug deal on the edge of the city centre on May 17, 2020. The car turned off Angela Street and into Pennygate Close and after seeing someone get in the car to buy drugs police stopped the vehicle.

He appeared to have something down his trousers and was later found to have wraps of 70 wraps of crack cocaine. When asked by police about drugs bag in his house, Walker told them they were to hold chicken nuggets.

He later admitted possession with intent to supply Class A drugs and was jailed for four years.

Claire McGlone

Two sisters moved kilos of class A drugs and tens of thousands in cash across the country as part of a major drugs conspiracy.

Amy and Claire McGlone used the handle "Moodyalpha" to take instructions on couriering cocaine, heroin, cannabis from Merseyside to destinations across the UK. Police who arrested the pair found a massive drugs "hide" in their Mazda, while the hacking of the Encrochat network revealed the full extent of their criminality.

Nicola Daley, prosecuting, said the sisters worked together, passing the Encro phone from one to the other as they both took instructions from their boss, "secretgold" during the spring of 2020. It is unclear when exactly the McGlones, neither of whom have any previous convictions, became involved in dealing drugs.

However, a stream of messages show the pair were ferrying drugs to and from Merseyside throughout April and May of that year. They were stopped by police in South Wales on May 20, 2020 and later admitted conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.

The court heard there was no evidence the women or their families were living "a lavish lifestyle" as a result of drug dealing, with Amy McGlone's financial situation appearing to be particularly bad. Ms Daley said they appeared to be paid only a few hundred pounds for each trip.

Claire McGlone was jailed for four years and nine months and Amy McGlone was jailed for four years and six months.

Callum Unsworth

Callum Unsworth was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court for the brutal robbery of a man in Southport. Yet supporters missed his sentencing after their outbursts saw them removed from the courtroom.

Unsworth targeted a man while he was getting cash out in the early hours of January 29 this year. The victim had been at a bar in the town centre and gone to get money from a cash machine but as he went to take it Unsworth came up behind him and took the cash, pushing the man to the floor.

Bernice Campbell, prosecuting, told the court the man's knee was injured in the process and his glasses were broken in the robbery, which saw 23-year-old Unsworth run off with £30. Unsworth was later arrested and admitted robbery.

Unsworth, of no fixed abode, for two and a half years but said he believed the circumstances of his earlier years had made him more vulnerable to crime.

Martin Grant

Martin Grant, 33, was jailed for over 14 years on Friday, June 10, after Liverpool Crown Court heard he began using an EnroChat phone shortly after he was released from prison on licence. Grant, a father-of-two originally from Old Swan, specialised in high quality cocaine imported from Bolivia.

Police were able to link Grant to the EncroChat handle SwiftOrchid after they identified pictures of his home on the device. Grant, who lived in the Southport area, sent pictures of a bouncy castle on the device.

Ben Jones, prosecuting, said Grant acted as a "wholesale broker" and distributed Class A drugs to the midlands, Lancashire and Carlisle area. Last week the court heard how Grant's younger brother Liam used the Encro handle Beigepalm to supply cannabis. Liam Grant was jailed for four years and six months during an earlier hearing.

Mr Jones told the court Grant had previous convictions for vehicle taking, blackmail, handling stolen goods, section 18 wounding and possession of an offensive weapon. Grant had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine, conspiracy to supply heroin, conspiracy to supply amphetamine and conspiracy to supply cannabis.

Paul Munro

A paedophile who sent messages saying he wanted to have sex with teenage girls told police "I’ve been silly again" after he was confronted outside his home.

Paul Munro sent vile messages to a chatroom account he thought was run by a 13 year old. But the 47 year old, from Oxton, was actually revealing his sexual interest in children to an adult who then handed them over to the police.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Monroe sent a series of messages to accounts run by a member of a vigilante group. He sent the messages only months after a community order handed to him for a previous offence ended.

A judge labelled Munro, of Woodchurch Road, a danger to young girls as he jailed him for four years with another six on extended licence.

Michael Doyle

A drug dealer who plotted the transfer of kilos of Class A drugs was found with a vacuum sealed block of cocaine in a cupboard in his house.

Michael Doyle directed the movement of large amounts of cocaine, heroin and amphetamine throughout the first half of 2020. The Bickerstaffe dad was jailed earlier this week after an investigation laid bare his criminality.

Police were able to link Doyle to the transfer of 7kgs of cocaine, though there were messages alluding to larger deals which were not concluded. Other messages showed Doyle's interest in bringing drugs in from the Netherlands and transferring millions of euros to South America.

Doyle, of Heyescroft, was jailed for 12 years.

Paul Shaw

A paedophile sent 100 messages a day to Facebook accounts he thought were run by a young teen.

Paul Shaw thought he was speaking to a 13-year-old girl when he sent messages saying he would make her "feel tingles" if they met. But the 61-year-old grandad from Bootle was actually speaking to a vigilante who later confronted him and handed the messages to the police.

The court member of the group No More Silent Voices had set up a Facebook profile posing as a 13-year-old and received a friend request from Shaw. She then began receiving increasing numbers of messages from him.

Shaw continued to message the account and said he would have sex with the girl and asked her to masturbate for him. Like Paul Munro, he was caught after members of the vigilante group went to his house and police were called.

Shaw, of Aylward Place, was jailed for two years and eight months.

Dean Potter

Two drug dealers are back behind bars after one gave the other a lift home from prison despite them being banned from associating with each other.

Cheshire Police said Dean Potter, 24, and Callum Pope, 22, were slapped with Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBO) in 2019 in a bid to curb their "repeated involvement" in antisocial behaviour, selling drugs and threatening behaviour in the town. Despite this, at 10am on Friday Potter picked up Pope from HMP Risley in Warrington after his release from prison to drive him back to Runcorn.

Pope was jailed for eight months and told to pay a £156. Potter was given six months in prison and must pay a £128 surcharge.

Following the sentencing Chief Inspector Andrew Blizard, of Runcorn Local Policing Unit, said: "It is beyond belief that Pope would breach the terms of his CBO within minutes of being released from prison by getting a lift home from Potter.

"The pair were well aware that they were banned from associating with each other, yet they chose to get into a car together. As a result of that action both of the men are now behind bars."

Lewis Lally

A man riding an e-bike fled to France after ploughing into a six-year-old girl, and leaving his victim seriously injured in the street.

Lewis Lally, 24, had a suspended prison sentence hanging over him when he drove "at full pelt" into a six-year-old girl on Windsor Road, Tuebrook, on March 4 this year. Harrowing footage of the crash was played at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, June 14, which showed the child get hit by the e-bike and lifted into the air by the force of the impact.

Lally, of Belvoir Road, Widnes, then caught a ferry to France the next day with another man on his way to Barcelona and after numerous attempts to locate him he was eventually arrested in Widnes on March 27.

He eventually pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving when he first appeared in the crown court in April. Jailing Lally for a total of two and a half years Judge Brian Cummings, QC described the CCTV footage as "shocking."

Kevin Campbell

A "sickening" pervert spied on people using the toilet.

Kevin Campbell appeared for sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court. The 58-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to five counts of voyeurism.

Campbell, who lives in Allerton, planted a camera in a toilet in Birkenhead and filmed unsuspecting members of the public over the course of a year. The defendant stored the footage on his laptop, where an IT company uncovered his stash in December 2020.

The court heard Campbell was "distraught" when probed on the videos - and immediately admitted his guilt. However, David Watson, prosecuting, read out a number of statements from his numerous victims, who are still traumatised after footage of them was used for the defendant's own "sexual gratification".

Campbell, of New Heys Drive, was jailed for eight months.

Sarah Campbell

A mum sexually abused a 15 year old boy for months and eventually gave birth to his child.

Sarah Campbell had sex with her victim on a golf course and under a blanket while others were sleeping in the same room. The mum, now 40, would also ply the boy with cocaine and cannabis so they would "get off their barnets" together as part of her sordid plot to make him her "sexual play thing" between 2016 and 2017.

Martine Snowdon, prosecuting, said Campbell started grooming the boy and abusing him for the first time in 2016. She said they had sex multiple times and that she would offer him drugs. Ms Snowdon said: "They would "get off their barnets" regularly, as [the victim] put it, smoking cannabis and taking cocaine provided by her."

Ms Snowdon said Campbell would try to avoid social services and others finding the boy by getting him to sneak into her house at odd times of day and hide. She then fell pregnant with a child later determined to be his and was charged with multiple sexual offences against him.

Campbell was found guilty after a trial earlier this year and was jailed for nine and a half years on Tuesday.

Darren Nelson

A drug dealer bragged he had a key worker in his gang who transported illicit packages during lockdown.

Darren Nelson, of Whitfield Road, Walton, bragged about Virgin Media worker, Robert Wood's freedom to roam, a court heard. On Tuesday, seven of the 14 people in both gangs were jailed at Caernarfon Crown Court for a total of 66 years and 11 months for their crimes in North Wales and Merseyside.

Andrew Jones, prosecuting, said cocaine and cannabis were sourced via Liverpool and distributed and adulterated in North Wales between December 2019 and April last year.

Mr Jones said Wood, 58, worked for Virgin Media at the time and was a key worker during lockdown. He moved cocaine around North Wales, while other consignments were brought by other gang members.

But police breached their EncroChat messages - on which the conspirators used handles including Powerwhale and Excellent Wolf - and officers seized drugs from properties and vehicles.

All of the people involved admitted conspiring to supply a controlled drug of Class A - cocaine - and conspiring to supply a controlled drug of Class B - cannabis resin. Nelson and Wood's sentences included their part in a Liverpool gang's offences.

Nelson, 32, of Whitfield Road, Walton, was jailed for 15 years and nine months. Wood, 58, of Stamfordham Drive, Garston, was jailed for nine years and 11 months.

Kevin Hill

A senior member of a drug gang was jailed after he claimed he was a dog breeder selling XL bully dogs.

Kevin Hill, of Tarbock Road, Speke, led a Merseyside organised crime group that was responsible for the distribution of wholesale amounts of cocaine to Herefordshire between May 2021 and February 2022. The 48-year-old took over the illegal enterprise from his twin brother Keith Hill, of Ridgemoor Road, Leominster, who himself is currently serving a nine-year jail sentence.

West Mercia Police said the brothers were at the pinnacle of the organisation, and it's estimated that they distributed in excess of a kilo of cocaine. The police operation managed to gather significant mobile phone evidence which implicated Hill, with him pleading guilty and receiving a reduced sentence.

Hill was sentenced to nine years in jail for supplying cocaine and possessing offensive weapons on Monday, June 13 at Worcester Crown Court.

Jonathan Gordon

A dangerous and ruthless hitman behind a string of shootings was jailed for life after launching a bottle of acid into a dad's face for money - leaving him with permanent injuries.

Known Deli Mob gang member Jonathan Gordon, 34, offered his services on the encrypted EncroChat phone network using the handle 'ValuedBridge', and was hired by an unidentified gang boss behind the handle 'AceProspect' to carry out sickening attacks on several enemies. The messages revealed how Kirkdale based Gordon charged £6,000 for an acid attack, rising to £10,000 to permanently blind the victim.

Gordon was identified as the man behind a devastating attack on Lee Deakin, from St Helens, who was targeted on April 14, 2019 as he stepped outside his home to get a phone charger from his car. Mr Deakin remains in a constant battle to keep his sight, and even required emergency surgery this week due to complications from the attack three years on.

Liverpool Crown Court heard as well as being convicted of the near-blinding of Mr Deakin, Gordon was also convicted of two plots to carry out similar attacks that were aborted at the last stage, plus a spate of shootings including two running gun battles on the streets of Liverpool.

Judge Aubrey said Gordon's "extreme dangerousness" and lack of remorse meant a life-sentence was needed to protect the public. Gordon was handed a minimum term of 24 years and eight months before any possibility of being released by a Parole Board.

Gordon's accomplice, Dylan Johnston, was handed a lengthy extended sentence of 27 years in prison with an additional four on licence. Stephen Wissett, who drove the car during the attack, was sentenced to 12 years in prison, of which he must serve two thirds before being released on licence.

Michael Wilde

A former teacher, who sexually assaulted boys at the school where he taught for 38 years, was put back in jail for a fifth time.

Michael Wilde, 73, was first jailed in 2015 after two of his victims came forward, which led to three more revealing their ordeals at his hands for which he was again sent to prison. Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday, June 15, how Wilde was jailed again in 2019 and 2020 after another two former pupils of Wade Deacon High School in Widnes came forward.

The latest victim revealed what Wilde had done to him when he was aged between 11 and 14 in the 1970's while police were speaking to him about an unrelated matter in 2020.

Wilde, a granddad, of Drake Close, Burtonwood and Westbrook in Warrington, pleaded guilty to three offences of indecent assault and was sentenced to two years behind bars. The judge also ordered him to sign the Sex Offenders Register for ten years.

Thomas Henwood

A driver who was racing a friend to Tesco ploughed into his car and left one of his passengers with serious head injuries.

Thomas Henwood was going well over the speed limit on Southport's Sussex Road when he botched an attempt to overtake another car and crashed into it, causing his car to flip over. The soft top of his Mazda MX5 convertible crumpled inwards during the crash, leaving friend Harrison Povey, who was in the passenger seat, with a head injury that required 47 staples to be inserted into his skull.

The court heard Henwood and Povey were racing another of their friends to Tesco when the crash occurred. The 21 year old admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving earlier this year.

Henwood, of Aintree Lane, was jailed for 20 months.

Joshua Kehoe

A pair of security guards battered a landlord, his bar staff and customers during a rampage through a Merseyside pub.

George Harper and Joshua Kehoe terrorised the Manor Farm pub in Rainhill as it hosted an 18th birthday party to which they weren't even invited. They knocked a customer out before kicking his unconscious body, punched a man on crutches at the bar and thumped the licence holder so hard with a wine bottle his nose was left disfigured.

The pair went to the pub on Saturday, May 29, 2021, because their boss was providing security - though they themselves were not working. However, after an argument with the landlord's partner, who believed she saw Kehoe routing through a bag.

Things escalated rapidly. Kehoe accused Ms Casey of having "a bad attitude" and became embroiled in an argument about what he had been doing. Mr Lunt asked the pair to leave and, while they did so, Kehoe shouted to him: "You need to sort your f***ing bird out."

Harper and Kehoe then went and sat outside the pub for a number of minutes. They had been let out by a fire door and after a few minutes Kehoe opened it and went back in. Stephen Gledhill, another employee who had helped escort the pair out, was inside with Mr Lunt.

They assaulted both of them before going in and assaulting another one man inside the pub and another outside. They then returned to the bar and attacked a further two men before hitting Mr Lunt with a wine bottle.

Finally, they went outside and Harper punched another man in the head. Kehoe, of Cretan Road, Liverpool, was jailed for four years. Harper, of Holland Street, was jailed for two years and eight months.

Peter Beecham

A man who managed to run an arm of a £6m cocaine and cannabis operation from prison and helped arrange a courier to bring drugs into jail.

Thanks to surveillance and cracking into encrypted phone messages, police managed to bring Thomas Davies's organised crime group down, along with a Liverpool-based group. On Tuesday seven defendants were sentenced to a total of 66 years and 11 months for their part in flooding North Wales with Liverpool-sourced drugs.

The day before, the same judge jailed six more people to a total of 42 years and eight months. In total, 11 men and two women have been put behind bars for a total of 109 years and seven months.

Among them was Peter Beecham, from Merseyside, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply cocaine. Beecham, 38, of St Brides Road, Egremont, was jailed for five years and three months for conspiring to supply cocaine and cannabis resin.

Stephen Francom

An unwilling teenage passenger was flung from a a stolen van after it crashed following a 17 minute police pursuit.

Horrified police officers saw the girl being hurled onto a grass verge on April 8 and on finding her unconscious feared the worst but miraculously, although seriously injured, she survived.

The teenager and her friend accepted a lift in the vehicle when Francom, who they did not know, offered to take them to a nearby petrol station for cigarettes. But once there, while her friend was in the garage shop, a police car drew up alongside and Francom drove off as he was a disqualified driver and did not want to go back to prison.

During the chase, she was thrown through an open window and sustained serious injuries. He was later arrested and was found to have 47 micrograms of alcohol in 100 mll of breath, which was 12 micrograms over the limit. A wipe test was positive for cocaine but he refused to have a blood test.

Francom, of Paton Close, West Kirkby, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, theft of the van, driving while disqualified and failing to provide a specimen and was jailed for two years eight months.

Stephen Jennings

A paedophile left his young victim suffering "night terrors" of a man at the end of her bed after she was sexually assaulted twice.

Stephen Jennings, 39, of The Glen, Runcorn, appeared at Chester Crown Court for sentence after three guilty pleas to possessing indecent images and conviction at trial over the two assaults.

Philip Clemo, prosecuting, said Jennings initially groped his victim over clothes. When she asked him to stop, "he refused" and assaulted her again. The abuse came to light when the child's mother heard her using "inappropriate language", and she then said what had happened.

It was reported to the victim's school. In voluntary interview with Cheshire Police, Jennings denied what took place and any "sexual interest in children".

That lie was left in tatters when a search of his two phones revealed 10 Category A abuse images - the most serious type and including one of a girl of about 10 years of age "in distress" being raped, 10 Category B and 178 Category C.

Recorder Mark Ford sentenced Jennings to four years in prison, and placed him on a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and the sex offenders register, both for life or until further notice.

Steven Bragger

A vile bully stamped on his girlfriend's head and hit her with a bag that had a drill in it.

Steven Bragger also punched the woman in the face in front of her horrified friends, leaving her with a split lip. The 33 year old, from Warrington, subjected his then girlfriend to a series of violent assaults throughout 2019 and early 2020.

The court heard Bragger and the woman, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, got into a "turbulent" relationship and that he attacked her on numerous occasions. Bragger, of HMP Liverpool, was jailed for three years and four months.

Christopher Woo

An angry customer threatened a shop worker with an axe after a dispute over a faulty mattress.

Christopher Woo also shattered a mirror and broke a table during the incident at Worldwide Furniture earlier this year. He left the worker terrified and caused more than £1,000 of damage to the Walton Road business.

The court heard Woo, 67, of Chatsworth Road, became angry after finding out a replacement mattress had not been ordered and went and got an axe from his car before threatening the worker and damaging furniture.

A judge jailed him for 16 months.

Paul Ball

A Liverpool man who bombarded his former partner with vile messages threatening to slash her face and douse her with acid has been jailed.

Paul Ball also threatened to shoot the woman, destroy her sentimental jewellery, attack her under the cover of darkness and in front of her children.

The 42-year-old also threatened to get social services to take her young child and set her home on fire. His victim told Liverpool Crown Court, "No eight-year-old should ask, ‘nan what would acid do to mummy's face?’"

Ball, of Richard Kelly Drive, Walton, had pleaded guilty to harassment between October 30, 2019 and 30 October 2020. He was jailed for two and a half years.

Ryan Fagan

A thug who initiated the attack of a man in Liverpool city centre celebrated as he left court having been jailed.

Ryan Fagan, 40, had pleaded guilty to assault - causing actual bodily harm - for his involvement in an attack in Liverpool city centre in March. Fagan and co-defendant Kyle Johnson attacked Paul Buckley, 45, on Victoria Street in the early hours of March 1, 2022.

The court heard that Mr Buckley attended a formal function in Liverpool city centre on February 28, 2022 and decided to remain in town after the event ended at around 11pm. Fagan was in the city centre with Johnson and others that night and they approached Mr Buckley on Victoria Street at around 3am.

The pair then launched a sickening attack on the man.

The judge sentenced Fagan to 12 months in prison. Afterwards, Fagan thanked Recorder Shafi, before letting out a loud cheer of "get in" as he left the courtroom.

Shaun Wrigley

A burglar broke into a man's home and viciously attacked him with a golf club.

Shaun Wrigley, 37, attacked his victim, before reaching into his wheelchair and stealing his wallet. He then apologised to the man, who was unable to defend himself as he had no legs.

Wrigley then volunteered to leave his hand print on a plate to ensure he could be caught, Preston Crown Court heard. Judge Graham Knowles QC sentenced the intruder to 11 years for the robbery and an assault on a woman in a safe house in Liverpool.

The court heard Wrigley broke into the man's house while his partner was there and demanded cash while holding a golf club above his head. He then apologised to the victim and said he didn't realise he was disabled but then appeared to reach and take something from his wheelchair.

The victim's partner described Wrigley's behaviour during the robbery as bizarre and he was picked up by police a few days later.

The court heard Wrigley also attacked a woman who was placed in a safe house due to previous violence from him, after a social services blunder resulted in him being given her address. During the attack, Wrigley punched the woman to the ground, strangled her and bit her, leaving her black and blue.

A judge sentenced Wrigley, of Bridge Street, Liverpool, to eight years for the robbery in Blackpool and three years for causing actual bodily harm (ABH) to the woman.

Yacine Djalti

The leader of an organised crime group from Liverpool used a child to traffic drugs into Cumbria.

Yacine Djalti was the leader of a county lines drug gang that would run crack cocaine and heroin on the county line known as 'Mo' into South Cumbria in July and August 2021. On July 28, 2021, Cumbria Police executed a warrant at an address on Abbey Road in Barrow-in-Furness after they received intelligence that drug dealing was taking place in the area.

80 wraps of crack cocaine and 98 wraps of heroin with the value of £3,600 along with £360 in cash was found in the property. When police stormed the flat they found occupant Marc Woods, street dealer Derek Duncan, and ‘stock keeper’ Fred Williams, all three were arrested.

Thanks to phone evidence from the day police found that there was regular contact between all three of the men and OCG leader Djalti, as well as contact with drug courier Gary Crompton.

Just over a week later on August 5, 2021, officers conducted another warrant at another address on Titchfield Street in Barrow-in-Furness where a further 89 wraps of heroin and £1,080 in cash was found. Inside officers found the flat occupant and street dealer Ben Heavyside and a juvenile from Merseyside.

Finally, in a joint warrant from Merseyside Police and Cumbria Police that was executed on August 17, 2021 at a house on Whitney Road. As police approached the address Djalti was spotted walking down the street and officers began to chase him with him sprinting through gardens and discarding mobile phones, cash and a knife.

When the phones were recovered, police found that both were handsets used to run the county lines operation.

Yacine Djalti, 20, from Liverpool but of no fixed abode was sentenced to nine years and nine months in prison for conspiracy to supply heroin, conspiracy to supply crack cocaine, criminal damage to property, possessing a knife blade in a public place and racially aggravated public order.

Leslie Foster

A convicted rapist made a three-year-old rub his genitals in a city centre shop before trying to kidnap an eight-year-old and sexually assault her.

Leslie Foster had only recently been released from prison after committing sex offences against children but went on to target more kids in Home Bargains and Wilko in St John's Shopping Centre last year. The 71-year-old has spent most of his life in prison after committing a series of sexual assaults against women and girls.

A judge said his pattern of predatory behaviour posed a risk to young children as he jailed him.

Martine Snowdon, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court he was first reported after lurking in the arts and crafts aisle in Wilko's in September last year. A ten-year-old, shopping with her parents and sister, wandered away from them and was discovered by her sister close to Foster, who had brushed past her. Ms Snowdon said: "The defendant had said to her "are you sure, are you shy, do you want a kiss?’"

Days later, in Home Bargains, he targeted a three-year-old girl, telling her to rub his genitals over his trousers. That girl also told her family what had happened and while shop staff were checking the CCTV Foster tried to kidnap another child. He located an eight-year-old in a different part of the shop and asked her if she wanted to "come and play" and told her he would give her some money if she did so.

He quickly fled after realising he was under suspicion - but was arrested after he returned at a later date.

Foster, of no fixed abode, was jailed for nine and a half years, with another four and a half years on extended licence.

Alan Dreha

A man who subjected a child to 11 years of sexual assault has now been brought to justice.

Alan Dreha, 70, of Hanmer Road, Kirkby, abused his victim between 1990 and 2001. Following a trial in May, he was convicted of 14 counts of sexual assault.

He was jailed for 17 years, plus two on licence.

Detective Inspector Yoseph Al-Ramadhan said: "Dreha denied his offending meaning his victim was forced to endure a trial. We welcome that he will now spend a considerable amount of time behind bars to consider the consequences of his actions.

"I would like to take this opportunity to praise Dreha's victim for their courage in coming forward to report his crimes, and the dignity they have shown throughout the whole of this investigation."

Lucas Devereux

A county lines dealer stole multiple cars and flooded communities with drugs.

Lucas Devereux, 20, of Ranworth Place, Norris Green, was arrested in July 2021, after Project Medusa officers raided his home. The warrant came after an investigation into a County Line dealing into Widnes, Cheshire.

Devereux pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs. He pleaded guilty to a string of four burglaries and theft of vehicles, that took place between December 2020 and February 2021 in the Kirkby, Southport and Norris Green areas.

Devereux was sentenced to four years and 10 months in a Young Offenders Institute after pleading guilty to being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and four burglary offences at Liverpool Crown Court.

Officers from Project Medusa have welcomed the sentence of Devereux, speaking on his sentence, Inspector Gary Stratton said: "The offenders who operate these County Lines do so, to the detriment of everyone around them - they exploit young and vulnerable people to store, transport and deal drugs and blight the communities in which they operate.

"Project Medusa is committed to cutting these lines and putting the organised criminals who operate them before the courts, as we have done today. We are also working to remove those who have been exploited by these groups, to give them a choice and a chance to make a different life for themselves."

David Byron

A gangland debt collector was locked up for dodging penalty points in a speeding ticket scam.

Dad-of-three David Byron, 44, schemed with dodgy car rental business owner Benjamin Rood, 41, to swerve fixed penalty notices after being caught speeding in August 2016 and February 2017. Byron, of Longfellow Close, Kirkby, was driving Land Rover vehicles leased by Rood's franchise, 4x4 Hire Liverpool, on both occasions.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that as the rental vehicles were registered to Rood's business, he was obliged by law to provide the details of the driver. However, rather than Byron simply taking the points and paying the fine, WhatsApp messages recovered from Rood's phone revealed extensive conversations about nominating a "fall-guy".

That resulted in two men, Barry Sissons and James Ryan, being convicted of speeding in magistrates' court and each being handed six penalty points and fines ranging between £600 and £900. James Rae, prosecuting, told the court that Rood and several other men had been jailed for money laundering and conspiring to pervert the course of justice in May, but Byron had not been involved in their wider offending.

During an investigation into Rood, the WhatsApp messages were obtained by police, and Byron later pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, while asking for the 2016 incident to be taken into consideration by the court. Mr Rae said Byron also had a previous conviction for a similar offence, which saw him handed a suspended sentence in August 2012.

Byron was jailed for 10 months, and will be eligible for release on licence at the half-way stage.

John Digweed

A "proud dad" was unmasked as Encrochat dealer "Diorpaw" who moved 40kgs of Class A drugs in just a few months.

John Digweed used the Encrochat services to organise the supply cocaine and heroin during the spring of 2020. The 33-year-old tried to deny he was behind the handle "DiorPaw" but a jury saw through his lies in December.

A judge told him his messages about his children played a significant role in police being able to identify him.

Henry Riding, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court Digweed was convicted of conspiracy to supply a range of Class A and Class B drugs including cocaine, heroin, amphetamine, ketamine, cannabis and ecstasy. He said Digweed mainly appeared to trade drugs to other dealers in Devon and Cornwall, though other locations across Britain were mentioned in his messages to other criminals.

Digweed was jailed for 25 years.

Bradley Graham

A dad-of-two who trafficked crack cocaine and heroin between Liverpool and Cornwall was forced to work for gangs as a child to pay off his mum's drug debts, a court heard.

Bradley Graham, of Pym Street in Walton, set up the so-called 'JC Line', a county lines operation aimed at flooding the Cornish coastal town of Newquay with Class A drugs. Graham sent 56 so-called flare texts, mass messages on a 'graft phone', to around 71 drug users in the town, between April 17 and June 19, 2020.

Graham would also enlist some of the local addicts to deliver drugs for him. He made regular visits to Cornwall, but ran most of the operation from his home in Liverpool, our sister site Cornwall Live reports.

Judge Anna Richardson jailed Graham for four years and three months after he admitted to two counts of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

Stephen Grzyb

A man broke into a family home to steal their car as they slept upstairs.

Stephen Grzyb, from Huyton, broke into two homes on Brinton Close and Chillington Avenue, Widnes, in the early hours of Thursday, October 14, whilst the families and their children were asleep.

The 18-year-old broke into the first home through the garage but was unable to get in to the house itself. He left empty handed before running across the road to another house on Chillington Avenue.

The victims were upstairs when they were woken by the sound of breaking glass as Grzyb smashed his way through two sets of doors. He then stole the keys to a VW Golf R that was parked on the driveway and drove off as the victims watched from their bedroom window.

The vehicle was recovered later that day in Huyton. An investigation was undertaken by detectives at Widnes Proactive Policing Team and Grzyb was quickly identified as the suspect.

He was jailed for three years and six months.

Josh Hoskison

A pensioner was placed in intensive care and suffered life-changing injuries after being attacked outside a pub.

Denis Cunliffe was left with a bleed on the brain after being punched outside the Sefton in St Helens town centre before falling and hitting his head on the floor. Josh Hoskison, 25, dished out the unprovoked attack after rowing with his girlfriend and brawling with another stranger who had attempted to intervene.

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Wednesday, that the incident unfolded in the early hours of September 1 last year. At around 1.15am, a passerby encountered the couple engaged in a heated argument near to the Baldwin Street establishment.

He was described as acting as a peacemaker during the altercation. But Hoskison, who was on crutches at the time of the incident, told him to "f*** off", threw these walking aids to the ground and ran at the man.

The enraged mechanical engineer shouted "I'll gouge your f***ing eyes out" before the pair wrestled on the floor.

They eventually separated, but Hoskison then punched Mr Cunliffe - who fell backwards and "cracked his head". His assailant attempted to help him to his feet before realising that he had been knocked unconscious and "became completely different".

Mr Cunliffe was rushed to Whiston Hospital, where it was also discovered that he had suffered a fracture to the head. Mr Cunliffe, who had only recently recovered from a stroke, was later transferred to St Helens Hospital and spent two months recovering before being discharged home.

Hoskison, who has no previous convictions, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent and nodded as he was jailed for 20 months.

Adam Caine

An injured pubgoer was marched from cash machine to cash machine by robbers after a night out, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

The victim was led off from a taxi rank in Birkenhead town centre by his attackers on the promise that they would take him to a bar where he could still get served in the early hours. Instead, he was knocked to the ground and repeatedly punched as he was robbed by Adam Caine and Neil Griffiths.

The man had gone out to various pubs in the area at around 5.30pm on February 20 2020. By 3.30am the following day, he had gone to the rank on Argyle Street and was asking strangers if there were any nearby establishments still open to continue drinking in.

Caine and Griffiths approached him and claimed to know such a place, and he walked off with the pair. But he was instead attacked and knocked to the floor.

The victim ran back to the taxi rank, but was again accosted and taken to a cash machine - being "frequently punched" by Griffiths and elbowed to the face as this happened. He was then escorted to several ATMs, "leaving a trail of blood" in his wake.

Both Caine and Griffiths received two and a half year sentences.

James Santamera

A "prolific" burglar targeted a vicar's house and a school on parents' evening during a crime spree.

James Santamera broke into a staggering 18 homes, businesses and other properties during his latest spate of offending in the autumn of last year. He had only recently been released from prison on licence at the time.

The 46-year-old was jailed for four years in February 2019 over eight other burglaries. After being freed from this term, he handed himself in at St Anne Street Police Station in November last year stating he had "come under threat".

While there, Santamera confessed to a further seven break-ins. These included stealing a wallet containing money and a bank card from the presbytery of a church in Clubmoor.

The ex-Merchant Navy man then admitted another 11 offences committed during the same period.

One burglary was committed at shared accommodation above Yo's Restaurant, a Chinese on Wavertree Road in Edge Hill. This saw the defendant sneak into an occupant's bedroom and steal a wallet containing £20 in cash and a bank card, which was then used to purchase cigarettes.

Others saw Santamera enter staff rooms and "take what he could find", including purses and money, with another targeting the manager's office of a business. He swooped upon Merchants Taylors' School on parents' evening, seizing on the opportunity to go unnoticed inside to lift three laptops.

He was handed the mandatory three-year minimum term for a third strike burglar minus credit for his guilty plea, resulting in a sentence of 876 days behind bars.

Darren MacPhee

A shopkeeper suffered a "horrific" 17cm wound after being attacked by a thief.

Darren MacPhee, from Birkenhead, left the employee with a "grave laceration" to his back after the worker attempted to stop him from shoplifting. But the "danger to the public" then called the police claiming that he was the one who had been attacked.

The fighting, which was captured on CCTV, lasted more than 10 minutes both in and outside the premises. During a "fairly prolonged" incident, MacPhee threw the man to the floor and punched and pushed him.

He is thought to have suffered the nasty cut when he was shoved into a shelving unit. The 29-year-old defendant, of Prince Edward Street, admitted wounding and was jailed for two years.

Rebecca Chisnall

A woman punched a hotel manager after being asked to leave for rowdy behaviour.

Rebecca Chisnall was turfed out of the Ibis in Haydock after noise complaints kept other occupants awake in the early hours. The 23-year-old, already serving jail time for attacking a love rival by dragging her down a St Helens town centre street by her hair, was handed another sentence of imprisonment over the unprovoked assault on the hotel worker.

Several guests had complained over noise from Chisnall's room, including hearing loud arguments, with her and her roommates having been spoken to by staff throughout the night. They were told they had 10 minutes to collect their belongings after she threatened to "knock out" the employee.

Shortly afterwards in the reception area, Chisnall - of Newton Road in Parr - inhaled her vape, blew the smoke in the manager's face and punched her in the head before departing. She pleaded guilty to assault and was handed six weeks behind bars.

Paul Maylor

A thug subjected a carer to a brutal attack that left him so scared for his own life he jumped out a first floor window to escape.

Paul Maylor left his victim in a coma for days after beating, kicking and biting him in a prolonged assault in early 2020. Liverpool Crown Court heard Maylor had been drinking and taking cocaine before the attack at the home of a friend in north Liverpool.

Maylor later went on to seriously injure his nephew in a separate incident while on bail for his attack on Peter Gibbons. He is now blind in his left eye due to the attack.

The 58-year-old defendant, of Clapham Road, was convicted of two counts of wounding. He received 14 years and five months.

Mark Garry

A drug dealer who flooded the streets of Runcorn with class A drugs climbed onto his roof when officers raided his home.

Mark Garry, of Swainson Road in Fazakerley, was selling crack cocaine on the streets of Runcorn until police raided his address on May 30, 2022. When they arrived, he was seen climbing out of the window and onto the roof.

Drug paraphernalia and equipment were found inside the property. The 26-year-old later admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine.

Garry was jailed for four years. Detective Inspector Gary Stratton said: "Garry thought he could evade justice but he is now paying for his crime."

Phil McAlary

A knifeman repeatedly stabbed his flatmate in the stomach after wrongly believing he had stolen his motorbike.

Phil McAlary, of Keble Road in Bootle, flew into a rage with his neighbour over the misunderstanding and laughed maniacally after smearing poo over a communal toilet. He spent hours simmering over the dispute before plunging a knife into the innocent man five times the following morning.

The victim felt three punches to the stomach and stuck his leg out in order to block the attack, receiving two more hits to the knee and shin. He did not realise that 48-year-old McAlary was brandishing a knife and he was actually being repeatedly stabbed.

Doctors discovered that the blade had perforated the abdominal wall and had to perform emergency surgery. The attacker admitted wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm and was locked up for four years.

Adam Challoner

A thug who lured a pizza delivery driver into an ambush and robbed his car at knifepoint remains on crutches months after smashing it into a tree.

Adam Challoner, 26, was hospitalised for three weeks after being pulled from the destroyed Vauxhall Astra on Netherley Road, Tarbock Green, on April 28 this year. The crash, which was not witnessed and involved no other vehicles, came only eight minutes after the terrifying robbery on Hastie Close in Netherley.

The driver was sent to deliver the pizza after a call from Challoner's mobile phone to a takeaway at 10.10pm that night. However, as the driver pulled up, he was approached by Challoner, of Bechers, Widnes, who snatched his car keys from his hand.

Residents living near the scene of the accident later heard a loud bang and found the robber trapped in the driver's seat. He admitted robbery and was jailed for 40 months.

John Skelton

A paedophile was caught attempting to groom 13-year-old girls after savagely attacking his 66-year-old mum with her own walking stick.

Police discovered vile Facebook chats on John Skelton's mobile phone after his arrest over the serious assault, which saw the pensioner suffer a broken arm and have her head split open. In the messages, he implored the 'teenagers' to perform sexual acts and sent naked pictures of himself.

Upon analysis, it was discovered that the 46-year-old had been "deliberately targeting" two teens - who were actually decoys set up by paedophile hunters - by engaging in sexual conversations over Facebook Messenger. The defendant had initiated first contact before "turning sexual".

Skelton - of no fixed address, but previously from Kensington - sent the fake profiles pictures of his penis and asked for indecent images of the pair. He admitted two counts of attempting sexual communications with a child and two of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and was handed a further two-and-a-half years behind bars.

Brian Morton

A child rapist who groomed a girl with sweets and cigarettes has been jailed for 14 years.

Brian Morton, from Halewood, turned his victim against her own family in order to manipulate her for his sick sexual urges - even telling her that her parents did not love her. He also bought her mobile phone top-ups and took her for rides in his car, where he would sexually assault her.

The pervert would watch her while she bathed and "offer to clean her". Then, when she was aged 15, he raped her while she was sleeping in the spare bedroom of his home.

More than a decade later, the now 61-year-old attempted to groom another 14-year-old. Morton was found guilty of two counts of rape and jailed for 14 years.

Kristian Kolar

A pervert secretly filmed his victim having sex with her boyfriend after installing spy cameras in her home.

Kristian Kolar "visually raped" the woman by covertly recording thousands of her most intimate moments for more than a year. When his perverted behaviour was finally exposed, police also discovered sick videos of women having sex with horses and dogs on his computer.

Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday, Tuesday, that the 39-year-old, from Warrington, fitted the "concealed" cameras in the complainant's living room, bedroom and bathroom in February 2019. They were only discovered in September the following year, having taken 20,315 "voyeuristic images" and 4,311 videos of her in the intervening period.

This "insidious invasion of her privacy for sexual gratification" also included films of the woman in bed, on the toilet and naked in the shower. Police subsequently seized Kolar's laptop and discovered he had been collecting bestiality porn since 2017.

A total of 17 such images and two videos were found on the device, including a clip which showed a dog "mounting a naked blonde woman" and another involving a woman and a horse engaged in intercourse.

Kolar, of Ross Close in Old Hall, admitted voyeurism and possession of extreme pornographic images. The factory worker, who has no previous convictions and was assisted by an interpreter in the dock, was jailed for 14 months.

John Cass

A cocaine "broker" was involved in the supply of more than £400,000 of drugs on behalf of a mysterious importer known only as "Jurgen".

John Cass, from Kirkby, secretly operated under the pseudonym FrostFortress on the encrypted communications platform EncroChat.

Liverpool Crown Court on Friday that the 34-year-old acted as a "broker and intermediary sourcing large quantities of recently imported class A and B drugs". Cass, of Corbet Close, had 64 other handles stored in the contact list of his Encro phone, with messages exchanged with 22 of them.

In particular, he had liaised with the handle JurgenSixNineteen - described as an "upstream supplier operating outside of the UK". The first-time offender took possession of 10kg of cocaine on his behalf, drugs with a wholesale value of between £365,000 and £425,000.

Cass received commission of approximately £500 per kilo for onward sale of the illicit substances. A range of messages recovered by police detail Cass’ negotiations with JurgenSixNineteen, as well as a conversation about the potential of obtaining a gun.

Cass was linked to the FrostFortress handle after being pulled over by police in October last year having been "driving erratically" on Whitefield Drive in Kirkby. He admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis, money laundering and possession of criminal property and was jailed for ten years.

Amanda Bywater

A nan and her partner plotted for months in an attempt to get a teenager to have sex with both of them.

Amanda Bywater, 48, and Phillip Park, 37 both encouraged each other to have sex with the same girl in a series of messages sent between the pair on WhatsApp. Bywater and Park were both jailed after a judge at Liverpool Crown Court told them he was sure they had the intention of having sex with the child.

Jonathan Rogers, prosecuting, said Bywater, from Widnes, and Park, from Leigh, met on a swingers' website and soon began messaging each other frequently throughout 2019.

He said they soon began discussing having sex with a particular teenager. In messages read out in court, the pair discussed how they wanted to have sex with the child in graphic detail. They would sometimes phrase the messages as a joke but later return to the topic again and again.

Eventually, the pair even discussed plans to have sex with the teen and whether they could ply her with alcohol to encourage her to agree. Their sick messages were later discovered before any sexual activity took place and they were reported to the police.

Park, of Holden Road, Leigh, and Bywater, of Brooklands Park, Widnes, were jailed for four and a half years.

Andrew McMullen

A paedophile performed a sex act during a 19 minute Skype call with an account he thought was run by a 12-year-old girl.

Yet dad Andrew McMullen was actually talking to a police officer when he sent a series of vile messages asking them to perform sex acts and encouraging them to engage in sexual activity.

Nardeen Nemat, prosecuting, told the court McMullen had begun sending messages to an account run by a police officer under the name "Izzy" on a chat site in May this year. Ms Nemat said: "The officer logged onto a chat site called ChatiW under the user "Year8off". He used a profile pic of a 18-year-old female, which was the youngest option on the drop down menu on the platform.

"Around 12 minutes later ‘Izzy’ received a message from a user, ‘Wirral xx’, a 53-year-old male, now known to be the defendant. His message said ‘watch me’. Izzy replied ‘no thanks’, to which the defendant said ‘shame give good show, make you horny, big c***. Izzy told the defendant she was not 18."

He continued to message the account and eventually sent a 19 minute Skype broadcast of himself performing a sex act. McMullen was later arrested and police also found 272 indecent images on his phone.

He later pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images, inciting a child to engage in sexual communication and inciting a child to watch sexual acts. McMullen, of Old Greasby Road, was jailed for two years and nine months.

Hamid Akhonzada

A knife-wielding convicted sex offender with a "compulsion" for violence slashed a teenager's throat with a knife on a Runcorn bus after being moved north from Croydon with no continuity of care - despite suffering a "major psychotic disorder".

Hamid Akhonzada, 26, launched the attack on May 8 last year after sitting behind a young couple on a Palacefields to Brookvale service in Runcorn. Dafydd Roberts, prosecuting at Chester Crown Court on Friday, said Akhonzada grabbed the 17-year-old boy by the hair from behind then "held his head back and drew a bladed article described as a steak knife across the throat".

The youth tried to evade him and fight back as shocked passengers looked on and his girlfriend, 16, was also slightly injured as she tried to help him. Akhonzada, of Liskeard Close, Brookvale, Runcorn, punched the boy three or four times as they struggled in the baggage hold and then fled the scene when the bus stopped.

Upon their arrival, officers from Cheshire Police found the victim, who was sitting on the bus staunching the blood from his neck with a Covid facemask. Mr Roberts said the teenager received glue and butterfly stitches to treat six or seven "scratches" to his neck, described as "cuts" by Judge Michael Leeming.

Afghan refugee Akhonzada was arrested on May 14 in Croydon, where he had previously lived until being moved north by officials to Runcorn. He gave "no comment" answers in police interview.

Three days later on remand in HMP Altcourse, he beat prison officer Michael Bennett unconscious, first by calling for attention from his cell then punching Mr Bennett. Mr Roberts said Akhonzada had 10 previous convictions for 23 offences including two for common assault and assaulting a constable in 2016, assault occasioning actual bodily harm in 2017, and common assault and sexual assault in 2018 leading to a prison sentence.

Kevin Slack, defending, said Akhonzada was diagnosed with schizophrenia after he arrived in the UK having fled Afghanistan aged 16 after a series of traumas. Judge Leeming acknowledged the seriousness of his condition but countered that convicted sex offender Akhonzada had sought to "self-medicate" with cannabis and spice instead of seeking help.

He said the knifeman had a "compulsion" for violence as he jailed him for four years, with four years on extended licence due to dangerousness. Akhonzada will have to serve 32 months behind bars before being considered for parole.

Cole Thomas

A pervert attacked a woman, sexually assaulted her and stole her possessions on a busy city centre street.

Cole Thomas headbutted and throttled his victim before groping her during a shocking incident outside St Johns Shopping Centre. The 22-year-old then made vile threats to rape her and her family.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday, that the incident occurred shortly before midday on November 9 last year. Thomas, from Aigburth, "began shouting at" the complainant before grabbing her fingers and headbutting her.

She pushed him away, but he responded by "grabbing her round the throat and digging his fingers into her neck". The defendant continued to be "verbally abusive", calling her "disgusting" and saying that her mum was a "paedo".

Thomas, of Mossley Hill Drive, then told her: "I hope you get raped. I will rape your mum and siblings while I'm at it."

He then began "stroking her face" and grabbed her breasts over her clothing as she was pinned up against a wall. The sex offender "suggested she was enjoying it" and added: "How does it feel to be touched without consent?"

Thomas, who appeared in court via video link to HMP Styal with two of his fingers in a bandage, took her purse from her handbag - causing the bag to rip - stole three bank cards and ripped up her train ticket before leaving. Police attended the scene and found the victim "very distressed and crying", while her assailant was located nearby and arrested.

Thomas admitted sexual assault and theft and was jailed for 30 months. He was also handed an indefinite restraining order and a 10-year notification requirement.

Jake Burrows

Two burglars targeted 11 properties in one day and stole games consoles, tablet computers and bicycles.

Jake Burrows and a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, broke into houses and garages in Aigburth and Mossley Hill during their crime spree. The heroin and crack cocaine dealer and the youth burgled addresses on Rose Lane, Brodie Avenue, Lugard Road, Cherrydale Road, Benmore Road and Mentmore Road on February 8 this year.

Two mobiles phones and a Samsung tablet were taken during a burglary on Avenmore Road while two Nintendo Switch consoles, a wallet and car keys were pinched from a home on Heatherdale Road. The pair also swiped a backpack, an Amazon Fire Stick and bank cards from a house on Bridge Road.

The teenager, from Toxteth, was locked up for a year and three months at Liverpool Magistrates Court on Monday, after admitting six counts of burglary, four of attempted burglary and one of theft. Burrows, of Maud Street in Toxteth, was previously jailed for four-and-a-half years over the same spate of offending.

The 22-year-old also received an imprisonment of two years and four months at Chester Crown Court last month after being convicted of possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply - resulting in a total term of six years and 10 months.

Shaun Wilkinson

A cocaine-fuelled thief took police on a chase past children walking home from school.

Shaun Wilkinson, of Woodchurch Road, Oxton, Birkenhead, stole the keys to a red Honda Civic and a mobile phone from a locker at the Waterworld Leisure and Activity Centre in Wrexham on Friday, June 17. The 28-year-old then used the keys to get into the car, which was parked outside the leisure centre, and drove off in it.

The owner discovered that her car, keys and phone had been stolen at around 2.10pm and called the police. Officers looking for the car spotted it in Chester at around 3.15pm and pursued the car into Ellesmere Port.

During the chase, a rucksack was thrown out of one of the car's windows. Police said due to the dangerous manner in which the car was being driven and the presence of a significant number of children walking home from school, a decision was made to abort the pursuit in the Sutton Way area of Ellesmere Port for public safety reasons.

A short time later, officers located the Honda Civic in the Flatt Lane area of the town after it had crashed into a parked car. Wilkinson had fled the crash scene on foot, without any shoes on.

One of the officers who had been pursuing him found him a short distance away and he immediately recognised Wilkinson as the Honda driver and arrested him at around 4.10pm. The phone Wilkinson had stolen was inside the car, and the rucksack that was thrown out of it was located by officers, the bag contained bolt cutters.

Wilkinson pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicle taking, going equipped for theft, theft of the car keys and mobile phone, dangerous driving, driving whilst disqualified and without insurance and failing to provide a blood test for analysis.

The 28-year-old was jailed for two years and banned from driving for three years. He also has to pay a £156 victim surcharge.

Thomas Forshaw

A teenage dealer who "joined the family drugs business" was caught with nearly £20,000 worth of luxury goods and earned "hundreds every day".

Thomas Forshaw was caught with the huge stash of designer gear when police raided his Liverpool city centre apartment. The "feral" 19-year-old had been involved in the operation of three separate county lines gangs which flooded areas in Lancashire and Cumbria with heroin and crack cocaine, which he boasted was "dynamite" and the "best in town".

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday that he was "wooed" into the underworld, which several of his relatives were already caught up in, and went on to earn hundreds of pounds per day. On June 20, 2021, a car driven by a relative and carrying Forshaw as a passenger was stopped on the M6 heading to Barrow-in-Furness.

One flare text, a message sent to multiple numbers advertising drugs for sale, found on the device read: "Best about, dynamite. Mitch".

Forshaw was released on bail but, on March 16 this year, Merseyside Police executed a search warrant at his flat on Marlborough Street. Upon entering the bedroom, the teen was seen by officers with another Nokia phone in his hands.

He "actively resisted" arrest though, and had to be restrained on the bed as a result. During a search of the property, the force seized six mobiles, a "large quantity" of caffeine and paracetamol which were being used as cutting agents, heroin with a purity of around 50% and valued at up to £5,016, £2,000 in cash, a block of cannabis resin and a jar of the class B drug.

Also discovered were "designer clothing and shoes", an Apple watch and a PlayStation 5 with an estimated combined value of around £19,000. Analysis of two of the phones discovered they had been used in the 'Real Jackkk' and 'Kai' county lines, which supplied heroin and crack in Barrow and Morecambe respectively over the previous three months.

Forshaw - who has one previous conviction for possession of a bladed article in a public place and possession of cannabis - admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine, possession of cannabis and possession of criminal property. He was jailed for four years and four months.

Chris Morriss

A teenage girl had her "childhood stolen" after a vile paedophile raped her 10 times.

The actions of Chris Morriss, 49, formerly of Denecliff, Stockbridge Village, came to light after he was found in breach of the terms of the sex offenders register after being released from prison for previous sexual offences. He had tried to evade detection by changing his name, but was jailed for three and a half years for that offence in July 2021.

While officers were investigating the breach, officers were made aware a 13-year-old girl was raped 10 times by the vile paedophile. Morriss groomed the youngster by buying her presents before assaulting her to satisfy his perverted sexual urges.

The girl described how her whole family had changed because of what Morriss had done and how he had robbed her of the chance to be a normal teenager. Morriss was convicted of 10 rapes on the 13-year-old and was jailed for life in court earlier this week. He must serve at least 11 years before he is eligible to apply for parole.

Lee Walsh

A man broke into a couple's bedroom and left a victim with several facial injuries.

At around 4.30am on April 15, 2022, Lee Joseph Walsh, 51, gained entry into an address on Wolstenholme Square and entered the bedroom. The couple woke up to find Walsh and a fight broke out, leaving a man with injuries to his face.

Walsh then fled the scene with the man's wallet and bank card, which he later used at a convenience store on Smithdown Road. He was arrested on June 8 after forensic and CCTV investigations and was later charged for burglary offences.

Walsh, of Langton Road, Liverpool, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Rueben Murphy

A killer launched a rant at a judge as he was jailed for life over the street execution of a young dad.

Rueben Murphy, 26, called the High Court judge a "fat paedophile" and screamed "f*** the system" as he was led to the cells at Liverpool Crown Court. Murphy, formerly of Barkbeth Road in Huyton, was convicted of murder after pumping two 9mm bullets into the chest of 26-year-old Patrick Boyle on July 1, 2021.

Mr Boyle, living in Kirkdale at the time, was the dad of a three-year-old boy and was expecting a second child with his pregnant partner, hospital ward manager Ashleigh Deans, at the time he was killed. He was standing outside an address in Newway, off Lordens Road in Huyton, at around 5.55pm when Murphy approached on an electric bike and opened fire.

Two rounds hit him on the left side of his chest and he was pronounced dead at Whiston Hospital less than 30 minutes later. Murphy denied he was in the street at the time, claiming he was "off me head" on ketamine and cannabis in a garden in another area of Huyton.

But he was faced with overwhelming evidence, including a pair of black gloves, bearing traces of gunshot residue and his DNA profile, found on top of a kitchen cupboard in his home. CCTV evidence also put him in the area of the killing at the time.

Murphy was convicted of murder after a trial at Liverpool Crown Court alongside his close friend Ben Doyle, now 25, who rode the electric bike, carrying Murphy on the back, to within minutes of the murder scene. Another friend, 21-year-old Thomas Walker, was cleared of murder but admitted handling one of the bullets used to kill Mr Boyle on a date prior to the day of the shooting.

Murphy will serve life in prison with a minimum of 31 years.

Doyle, of Lyme Grove in Huyton, was jailed for life with a 27-year minimum term while Walker, of no fixed address but from Clubmoor, was handed two years behind bars.

Robert Saxon

A violent bully subjected his girlfriend to a brutal assault over a 12 hour period.

Robert Saxon head-butted, punched, kicked and strangled his partner during the attack in Warrington earlier this year.

The woman said Saxon, 50, later told her he would kill her after he got out of jail. He and the victim got into a relationship in April 2021. The court heard that it was later characterised by both drinking heavily and Saxon taking Class A drugs.

Mr Riding said that on January 23 this year Saxon then launched into an assault on the woman at a house on Plumtre Avenue and that this then continued in his house on Yardley Avenue. He said this assault saw him subject her to a range of violence including grabbing her round the neck so hard she couldn't breath, putting his fingers in her eye sockets and head-butting her.

The woman was later checked by doctors and was fortunately found to have escaped serious injury but she said the attack had a devastating effect on her mental health. Saxon was jailed for two and a half years.

Reece Brown

A drug dealer flooded a town with crack cocaine and heroin.

Reece Jon Browne, 26, of Eton Street in Walton appeared in court on Wednesday, July 27, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to supply class A drugs. He was caught after a police operation found he was involved in a county line, which supplied drugs across Wigan between February and April of this year.

He was finally arrested and charged with supplying heroin and crack cocaine in April and was jailed for five years.

Stephen Spencer

A man ran back to a house he was thrown out of to attack two police officers.

Merseyside Police were called to a domestic incident on Greenbank Drive in the Field Lane Estate on April 10. Patrols rushed to the area shortly after and asked Stephen Spencer, 44, to leave the home to prevent a breach of the peace.

He ran back to the property a short time later and assaulted two police officers. He was arrested and charged before appearing in Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, July 27.

Spencer, of Simonswood Lane in Northwood, Kirkby was jailed for two years and seven months after being convicted of grievous bodily harm against an emergency worker and assaulting an emergency worker.

Jonathon Byrne

A paedophile was caught with hundreds of sick images of child abuse and bestiality on his phones as well as a story depicting a "sexual fantasy" about a drunken teenager.

Jonathon Byrne, 34, was arrested at home on January 9 last year when officers arrived with a search warrant. Jamie Baxter, prosecuting at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, said the unit from Cheshire Police's online child abuse investigation team seized two Samsung phones and took Byrne, of Widnes, into custody for questioning.

Byrne confirmed his personal details but denied having seen any indecent image of a child or having any sexual interest in children. He claimed he didn't believe any such matter would be found on his devices.

Mr Baxter told the court: "How wrong he was."

After initially being released under investigation, Byrne was interviewed again on November 5, when he gave "no comment" answers to detectives after a "large number" of abuse images were found on his phones.

In total, there were 283 images and six videos in Category A - the most serious type, 270 still and six moving images in Category B, 186 images and 14 videos in Category C, plus 24 still images and 40 videos of "extreme pornography" - namely of bestiality.

Byrne was jailed for 16 months.

Stephen Carmody

A passerby stepped in when an 86-year-old woman was targeted by a "calculating" thief outside Asda.

Mary Rishworth had popped to the shops to buy a newspaper on April 26 this year when she fell foul of career criminal Stephen Carmody. Carmody, 39, had spotted Ms Rishworth going into the Asda store on Kirkland Street, St Helens, and lurked outside waiting for her.

Ms Rishworth noticed something tugging at her bag and realised Carmody had dipped his hand inside, but he was able to snatch her purse and house keys before fleeing the scene, leaving her on the ground.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Ms Rishworth was not seriously hurt and called for help, grabbing the attention of bystander Carl Molyneux. He gave chase and found Carmody rifling through the purse.

Carmody then threw it to the ground and said "sorry" before fleeing the scene. The purse was returned to Ms Rishworth, who confirmed loose change of between £5 and £10 had been stolen.

Carmody was arrested and initially charged with robbery, which he denied, however the charge was reduced to theft from the person due to the fact he did not use force during the incident. Carmody, of College Street, St Helens, then pleaded guilty. Carmody was jailed for 20 months.

Glyndwr Willis

A 'depraved' retired teacher downloaded more than 60,000 images of children being sexually abused.

Glyndwr Willis, also known as George Williams, amassed a huge collection of indecent and prohibited images of children over years.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Williams continued to search for indecent images even though he knew police were investigating him and despite the fact he was subject to a court order aimed at stopping him from accessing images showing the sexual abuse of children.

The 72 year old told probation officers he had an addiction to images showing child sexual abuse before a judge jailed him this morning. Nardeen Nemat, prosecuting, said Willis admitted to police he began accessing images of child abuse on the internet in 2011 - three years after he was convicted for possession of indecent images.

Williams, of Winstanley Road, was jailed for a total of 20 months.

Peter Spencer

A drug addict who got in debt to his dealers was forced to let them dig up his concrete yard and install a safe stacked with £180,000 worth of cocaine, heroin and cannabis.

Peter Spencer, 41, was also "pressured and threatened" into running a "graft phone" for the gang, and allowed his loft to be used to grow a "small but sophisticated" cannabis farm. The roofer was at home when Merseyside Police raided the property on September 6, 2019, and quickly found the drugs.

Spencer was living in Chiswell Street, Kensington, at the time with his partner who was also addicted to Class A drugs. Officers who raided his home conducted a detailed search of the house and found a hole in the concrete floor of the back yard, covered with a plastic mat. Inside, a safe had been installed which was openable using the keys found in Bird's pocket.

Inside the safe was a large haul of drugs, including 1.5kg of cocaine, 81g of heroin, 1.6kg of cannabis resin and 350g of cannabis bush. The court heard the estimated street value of the stash was between £89,000 and £187,000.

Spencer was jailed for three years and four months.

Winifred Chapman

A nan set fire to a bedroom in her ex's house after he broke up with her.

Winifred Chapman started the fire on a bed in the house where she had been living just minutes after Julian Lowe gave her a letter from lawyers telling her to leave the premises.

Her ex was left with burns to his hands as he dragged the drunken 52 year old from the room. A judge at Liverpool Crown Court told Chapman her actions could have killed someone.

Derek Jones, prosecuting, said Chapman and Mr Lowe had been in a relationship for a number of years and she had been living with him and his mum in their home on Coronation Road in St Helens until earlier this year.

However, in the days preceding the incident their relationship had broken down and he asked her to leave the property. The court heard she refused to do so and the atmosphere in the house became increasingly tense before she drank heavily then lit a fire in a bedroom.

Chapman, of Hillside Avenue, Huyton, was jailed for 20 months. A five year restraining order also prevents her from contacting Mr Lowe.

Michael Strange

A thug who attacked a woman has become one of the first in the country to be jailed for the offence of non-fatal strangulation.

Michael Strange, 33, of Nortonwood Lane, Windmill Hill, Runcorn, was sent down at North Cheshire Magistrates’ Court in Warrington. He pleaded guilty on the day to intentional strangulation, criminal damage, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH).

All three charges were committed against the same woman the day before the hearing, on Sunday, July 17. Strange was sentenced to 52 weeks in prison, and banned from contacting or approaching his victim or entering a named street.

Stephen Hill

A man left a bag of poo on his disabled neighbour's doorstep, attacked him with a hammer and stabbed him with a steak knife.

Stephen Hill also threatened to kill David Smith's dog and daubed offensive messages over his car in paint during an unprovoked campaign of harassment. The pair had previously lived alongside each other harmoniously, but within a fortnight the victim was left "fearing for his life".

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Monday, that Mr Smith had been residing at his home on Beaufort Street, Dingle, for around 10 months at the time of the string of incidents in September and October 2021.

There were a range of events leading up to Mr Smith's stabbing, including Hill verbally abusing him and swinging a claw hammer at him. Early on October 5, Mr Smith was in his front garden smoking a cigarette when he saw Hill "marching towards him". He said he was "looking for his cat" when asked what he was doing, but then leaned towards his victim and attacked him.

Mr Smith felt "excruciating pain" to his right abdomen before Hill "giggled" and fell over, at which point Mr Smith noticed he was brandishing a steak knife with a five-inch serrated blade and had been stabbed.

Hill, of Beaufort Street, tried to "plunge" the knife into him again and shouted: "I'll f***ing kill you, you Cockney c***. Kill, kill, kill."

He admitted wounding, possession of a bladed article in a public place, assault and criminal damage during an earlier hearing and was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

John Parvin

A stalker threatened to "chop up" his ex-girlfriend's young son and cut her cat's head off.

John Parvin, who has a history of abusing former partners, also said he would stab the victim's new boyfriend and burn down her house on Christmas Eve. He also told her hurt herself, knowing she had a history of suicidal thoughts.

Liverpool Crown Court heard earlier this week that the 33-year-old had known Katie Herridge "for many years" as they were "close neighbours" who had lived opposite one another. They began a short-lived relationship in November 2020, which ended in April 2021.

Weeks after they stopped seeing each other, Parvin began a campaign of abuse, making repeated threats to her and saying he would stab or throw a brick at her new partner.

In late October 2021, he left a voicemail threatening her son and revealed he had been tracking his ex's movements via her phone. She then contacted police.

But on November 20 2021, Parvin messaged Ms Herridge on Instagram threatening to "chop her son up and bring him back in bits" and burn her house down on Christmas Eve. He said he would "happily go to prison for it", adding: "Drop the charges you grass."

Parvin admitted stalking and witness intimidation during an earlier hearing and was jailed for 35 months. He held out a hand to Ms Herridge in the public gallery and said "I'm sorry" before he was led down to the cells.

Timothy Byrnes

A paedophile collected hundreds of child abuse images on an iPod and tried to use software to hide his activity from police.

Timothy Byrnes downloaded pictures of children as young as three being raped and kept them on the device in his Wirral home - but was found out after backing up the iPod on a laptop. A judge jailed the 70 year old, who has previous convictions for similar offences, at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.

Byrnes’ offending only started in 2011 but he had since received numerous convictions for making and possessing indecent images of children. As part of an order granted after his last conviction in June 2019, he was supposed to give police information about any devices he had that could store images and access the internet.

However, when a probation officer carried out a routine visit to his home in Bebington in January earlier this year he suspected Byrnes had been breaking the rules. Byrnes’ laptop was later searched and it was discovered there were of images of child sexual abuse present from a backup which had taken place when an iPod was plugged into it. The search also showed Byrnes had downloaded two pieces of software aimed at masking his internet activity.

In total, 683 indecent images were found on the laptop and linked to a back up of data from the iPod. Of that total number, 181 fell into the most serious Category A, with some showing children between the ages of three and five being subjected to sexual abuse.

Byrnes pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images and breach of a sexual harm prevention order and was jailed for three years and two months.

Peter McHale

A violent thug battered a teenage Liverpool fan and left him needing surgery.

Peter McHale robbed the 17-year-old and his girlfriend at the Mercure Hotel in Liverpool city centre earlier this year in an attack that saw him chase the boy and punch him repeatedly. The boy's jaw was broken in three places and he later had a suspected seizure while waiting for medical attention.

The 17-year-old and his girlfriend were out in Liverpool celebrating his birthday on April 11 this year. They had been out for a meal in the city centre and were making their way back to the Mercure Hotel, where they were staying.

On their way back they came across McHale, 36, and his partner and spoke with them briefly, including about how they were Liverpool FC fans. Mr Walmsley said the victim and his girlfriend then said goodbye and left but that McHale ran after them shortly afterwards and began his attack.

CCTV footage showed him punching out at the teenager outside the Mercure Hotel before chasing him inside and continuing the attack there. The teen's girlfriend, who was carrying his coat, followed them into the hotel but McHale then turned to her and pushed her to the floor before taking the coat and running off.

A judge at Liverpool Crown Court told dad-of-one McHale he was a "violent individual who has no ability to control his temper" as she jailed him for four years and four months.

Abdul Gani

A pervert groped a 10-year-old girl as she chose a packet of crisps in a newsagents.

Abdul Gani, 32, of Langsdale Street, Everton, groped the girl as she was in Jim's News in Fountains Road, Kirkdale with her nine-year-old cousin. The girls were stood selecting packets of crisps when the pervert walked past and touched her bottom.

Gani then smiled and winked at her before touching her again as she was paying. footage. Shop staff pointed out where the culprit, who did not work at the premises, was believed to be.

Gani, was convicted of sexually assaulting the child by touching after a magistrates court trial but his case was sent to Liverpool Crown Court because of the seriousness of the offence. On the day of the trial, Gani refused to leave his prison cell to appear via video link and he has also failed to engage with the Probation Service for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.

Jailing Gani for ten months Judge Stuart Driver QC said that he could not make an extended determinate sentence as Gani has no previous qualifying offences and the appropriate sentence would not be more than four years.

The police were called "and they found Gani unconscious outside his address having been assaulted". Gani was jailed for ten months.

Dewi Jones

Two thieves broke into City of Liverpool College and stole items that were meant to be sent to people in need in Ukraine.

Dewi Jones and Lee Thompson broke into the city centre college in the early hours of June 6 this year. Liverpool Magistrates Court heard they forced their way through a security gate before stealing a number of items from inside the building.

Thompson, 41, and Jones, 45, took around £300 of goods and caused £200 in damage to the college.

Jones, of no fixed abode, was handed 12 weeks in prison and magistrates ordered compensation to be paid to City of Liverpool College.

Peter Bennett

A knife-wielding robber raided the same shop twice within the space of a week while the same terrified worker was on duty alone.

Peter Bennett targeted the Go Local Extra store in Bootle on two occasions in four days, stealing hundreds of pounds in cash from the till. The employee who was on shift during both incidents was left "fearing for his life" as a result and had to quit his role.

Bennett was subsequently arrested on May 20. The court heard of his staggering record of 51 previous convictions for 112 offences, dating back to 1994 and including a count of robbery in 2014 for which he received 27 months behind bars.

He admitted two counts of robbery earlier this year and was jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

Andrew Fearnley-Hill

A man with a string of convictions for sexual offences was caught performing a sex act at a bus stop on his birthday. Serial flasher Andrew Fearnley-Hill now has 12 convictions following the incident of indecent exposure.

On the latest occasion, Fearnley-Hill, 52, was spotted by police officers passing in their car "naked from the waist down" as he performed a sex act on a busy Warrington street. He was holding his penis, while his trousers and underwear were on the pavement next to him.

The court heard that he could be seen by drivers, pedestrians and residents living nearby. Police believed he was under the influence of alcohol as he was "slurring his words and smelled strongly intoxicated".

Fearnley-Hill admitted indecent exposure and was jailed for a year. However, he is already serving a prison sentence and the new sentence will not affect his release date.

Karl Townsend

A killer who stabbed a burglar to death was jailed for 19 years.

Jordan Brophy was attacked with such ferocity that two shards of a broken blade were left lodged in his skull. He died aged 31 as a result of his injuries following the incident in Halewood in October last year.

Karl Townsend was cleared of his murder by a jury of six men and six women. However, he was convicted of manslaughter by a majority of 10 to two.

Judge Andrew Menary handed him 19 years, describing the attack as a "deliberate and armed response to an attempt to steal his drugs". Townsend must serve two thirds of this term before he is released on licence.

Sentencing, the Honourary Recorder of Liverpool said: "On that night, soon after you had left and while your partner and child were out of the house, the deceased Jordan Brophy and three other accomplices broke into your house. This was plainly a targeted attack - a smash and grab where the burglars were not concerned about making a noise and plainly did not expect to be in the house for very long.

"I have no doubt that they were after your stash of controlled drugs, because I have no doubt that at that time your principal source of income was dealing in class A and B drugs. No other explanation makes any sense.

"What that means is this was not a home invasion with a terrified and unsuspecting householder. As soon as you saw these men on the camera, you knew exactly what they were after.

"What resulted is the sort of violent encounter which so often accompanies this type of criminal activity. You were provoked by Jordan Brophy's actions, but your response was not in any way justified.

"I also find as fact that Jordan Brophy was not armed with any weapon while in the house, and in particular was not armed with a knife. He did not expect a confrontation that night.

"Equally, I find that none of the burglars had a gun. That is an embellishment invented by you.

"The verdict of the jury means that they could not be sure that when delivering a fatal blow, you intended to kill or cause serious harm. But on any view, the level of unlawful violence used by you was shocking.

"In a matter of seconds and without any delay, after entering the property you stabbed Jordan Brophy multiple times to the head, face and arms. Mr Brophy attempted to protect himself, but stood no chance.

"He tried to flee the scene but was caught again by you in the street, where you used the remains of the blade to stab him repeatedly in the neck. The notion that you were at any stage acting in reasonable self-defence is frankly absurd.

"Jordan Brophy was no angel. But whatever he was doing on the night, he did not deserve to die as he did.

"He was a loved and cherished son, brother, partner and uncle. Their lives have been damaged irreparably.

"This is an especially bad case of manslaughter. Mr Brophy was killed in the course of a series of unlawful attacks which must have involved an intention by you to cause harm falling just short of grievous bodily harm.

"You express remorse for what you did and the loss of life involved. I hope that is genuine."

Gerald Cole

A stalker called his ex an average of 325 times a day during a campaign of threats and harassment against her.

Gerald Cole told the woman he would throw acid in her face and burn her house down over the course of weeks of abuse as he called her from inside prison. A judge told him he was convinced he had no remorse and showed no acceptance of the trauma he had inflicted on the "emotionally unstable and vulnerable" woman.

Cole was serving a jail term for assaulting the woman when he called her thousands of times over the space of a few weeks, threatening her multiple times. Cole was jailed for 16 months and a restraining order prevents him from contacting the victim.

Darren Baptiste

A mum was confronted by a masked gang of robbers brandishing a machete during a terrifying break in.

The woman had a second knife held to her face and believed the raiders were also armed with a gun. The "ringleader" of the "shocking" break-in, her ex-boyfriend Darren Baptiste, was jailed earlier this week.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the single mother was home alone showering at her address in Rock Ferry, Wirral, at around 5.45pm on December 4 last year. She then heard a bang, and her dogs began barking.The woman got out of the shower and found herself confronted by two men in masks and gloves. They had smashed a window at the rear of the property and climbed through in order to gain access.

One of these invaders was armed with a machete, while the other was carrying a flick knife. They demanded cash and took £300 which she had been saving for her children's Christmas presents.

But the pair demanded more, believing there was a "substantial sum" of up to £50,000 in the house, which they "ransacked". The knifeman pressed the blade into her cheek as he threatened her, causing a cut.

She also believed a third offender had been armed with a gun. The court heard that she and Baptiste - of Burnard Crescent, Kirkby - had previously been in a relationship, although he denies this.

Baptiste was jailed for 14 years.

Daniel Kelly

A gang took nearly £40,000 in cash after raiding seven convenience stores in the space of just over a month.

The Liverpool-based organised crime group targeted Co-op shops across the North West, arming themselves with "heavy duty" tools and breaking in after the premises has closed for the day. Three dads - Anthony Carroll, Anthony Hollywood and Daniel Kelly - were today locked up over their respective roles in the operation.

Liverpool Crown Court heard this morning, Monday, that the crime spree would see the burglars force the shutters of stores open before stealing cash from the safe. The first came at the Co-op on Knutsford Road in Latchford, Warrington, at around 10.30pm on February 10.

Two men with a crowbar entered the building while another remained outside and stole £7,480. The following day saw a branch in Southport targeted at 11.15pm, with just over £6,500 taken.

A shop in Runcorn was then raided to the tune of £3,185 before two attacks on Valentine's Day. One incident in Salford saw more than £10,000 taken shortly before midnight on February 14.

Then, at around 1.30am, the offenders travelled to a convenience store in Hoylake and pinched £6,500. Later that same day, Hollywood was stopped by police and arrested.

Officers subsequently discovered £6,900 in cash in his bedroom, while clothing recovered matched that worn by an offender seen on CCTV footage. The raids continued on March 12 though, when a Co-op in Formby was burgled for £2,697 in cash at around 11pm.

The spate of break-ins ended at the Co-op on Chaise Meadow, Lymm, after men brandishing a crowbar entered late at night and took more than £2,000. The money stolen during all seven burglaries totalled £38,487.

Carroll and Kelly were linked to the crimes by automatic number plate recognition cameras and mobile phone cell siting data. The former had acted as a getaway driver and had only been involved in two of the offences.

ll three defendants admitted conspiracy to commit burglary, while Hollywood also pleaded guilty to possession of criminal property. He was jailed for 40 months, while Kelly was locked up for 45 months.

Carroll received 28 months behind bars.

Andrew Holland

A sick paedophile locked a 14-year-old girl in his attic and sexually abused her.

Andrew Holland's victim was branded a liar after police dropped their initial investigation into the child molester. Decades later, he finally confessed to his sickening crimes and has now been brought to justice for sexual offences for a second time.

The attack occurred in the attic room of the 60-year-old's then home on Merseyside. Holland - who has a total of seven previous convictions for 23 offences - admitted indecent assault during an earlier hearing. He was jailed for 32 months.

Thomas Hawkes

A drug dealer used the Encrochat handle ‘Goldgrape’ to collect £1.4m for other criminals.

Thomas Jefferson Hawkes was jailed on Tuesday, August 9, at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting conspiring to supply cocaine and cannabis. The 30-year-old, of Valerian Road in Claughton, was also convicted of money laundering.

That related to a six month period between January and June 2020 where it is believed he collected in excess of £1.4m in cash on behalf of other Encrochat handles. The court also heard he was responsible for collecting and distributing 14kg of cocaine and 75kg of cannabis. He worked with other criminals, two of whom have already been jailed.

Hawkes, of Valerian Road in Claughton, was jailed for 11 and a half years.

Keelie Murphy

A woman "infatuated" with her childhood best friend began harassing her again as soon as she was released from prison.

Keelie Murphy has previously been locked up three times for obsessively pestering Gemma Ellison. But after being freed from jail, she immediately resumed her campaign of harassment - bombarding the mum's workplace with constant phone calls which caused the family business to grind to a halt.

The pair had been friends since the age of 10 but the relationship "soured" after Murphy, from Woolton, "developed an infatuation" with Ms Ellison. The two had not spoken for many years, but got back in touch during 2017.

But in 2020, the 36-year-old was convicted of harassment and handed a restraining order barring her from contacting her former pal or attending her Widnes-based company Ellison Motors for five years. And Murphy, of Halewood Place, has repeatedly flouted this ban since.

Her latest breach of the ban saw her jailed for 30 months - and a judge warned her her prison terms would simply get longer if she continued to reoffend.

Oliver Roughley

An evil paedophile sexually abused a boy when he was aged as young as seven and raped him at a water park.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the now 24-year-old carried out the abuse over a three-year period when he was in his late teens. Roughley, from St Helens, groomed the boy by buying him presents including toy cars and teddy bears.

He also used violence to ensure his silence, including by twisting his arm behind his back. The pervert kept a pair of the child's underwear in his bedroom and messaged him telling him that he loved him.

Roughley - of Bailey Way in Windlehurst - first assaulted the boy when he was aged seven by touching his penis. He then "told him not to tell anyone or he would go to jail and never see him again".

His abuse escalated to raping the youngster in the cubicles of a swimming baths in South Liverpool and Splash World in Southport. He was convicted after a trial - and continues to maintain his innocence. A judge jailed him for 21 years.

Shaun Kelly

A "career criminal" led police on a 100mph chase before crashing into a lamp post and fleeing the scene to hide in someone's garden.

Shaun Kelly, 37, was behind the wheel of a stolen Vauxhall Zafira with false plates when officers were alerted to the car in Runcorn at around 7.15pm on November 17, 2020. Ben Berkson, prosecuting, told Chester Crown Court a constable set off to intercept the Zafira, which proceeded to tear up the rules of the road.

Mr Berkson said the dangerous actions included "speeding through a red light, performing a dangerous U-turn at speed, straddling double white lines, travelling at 70mph in a 40mph zone, undertaking vehicles which were also on the road, travelling at over 100mph in a 60mph zone, and travelling at 60mph in a narrow residential street with a 30mph limit." The "prolonged" pursuit ended when the Zafira crashed into a lamp post outside Co-op.

He later pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to dangerous driving, criminal damage over a fence he broke while trying to escape, and aggravated vehicle taking in the context of knowing the car was stolen and crashing it into a lamp post. He was handed 16 months in prison.

Christopher Smith

A vile man said he "would like to be there" after watching a video of a little girl being being sexually abused.

Christopher Smith, 31, sent messages to paedophile, Vicki Bevan, online and responded to a clip of her abusing a young boy with "that's hot" and to one of her abusing a girl with "I would like to be there". Bevan was part of a paedophile ring based in St Helens and carried out some of her appalling sexual fantasies alongside Paul Rafferty and Tony Hutton by raping and abusing a young girl.

Bevan also spent time discussing with another man their desire to "kidnap, rape, torture, kill and then eat children" after sexually abusing them. The vile woman made contact with Smith, who lived 230 miles away, on internet chat rooms before sending at least two clips to him.

Charlie Barrass-Evans, prosecuting, said Smith was caught by an undercover police operation, where officers posed as chatroom users on Kik. Smith was using the hashtag andysmith01 and offered to "trade" child images before being traced through his phone.

Smith of Clare Drive, Tiverton, Devon, admitted two counts of distribution and four of making, by downloading, indecent images of children and was jailed for two years and four months by Judge Peter Johnson at Exeter Crown Court.

Leslie Radley-Braithwaite

A stables worker was jailed after a fight erupted over a dead horse.

The scuffle involved a 'vikingologist', a Liverpool FC fan who is banned from matches and his mother-in-law. They all squared off after the aggrieved family barricaded the entrance to the site in Formby.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Thursday that Lisa Masterson had seven horses housed at Kentonwood Stables, Freshfield, but one died. Afterwards, there was "some upset as to the cause of death of the horse".

The 54-year-old also had "difficulties paying" and was instructed to find another site to house her animals. The court was told that there had been an unspecified "incident" at the stables on August 16 2020.

Masterson, of Maple Close in Croxteth, returned the following day with family members in tow. They blocked the entrance to the premises with three vehicles, intending to retrieve equipment she owned.

But the mum became "verbally abusive and aggressive" to staff members, pushing one. Her daughter's 23-year-old boyfriend Sam Lomax, of Camp Road in Woolton, then retrieved a craft knife from his car.

Stables worker Leslie Radley-Braithwaite, of Redgate in Formby, armed himself with two large kitchen knives in response and the arguing "escalated". The hearing was played mobile phone footage of part of the dispute, during which Masterson was heard to say "f*** off, will you get our stuff?".

The police were called, but "things had calmed down" by the time officers arrived. Masterson admitted using threatening behaviour and was handed a 12-month community order with 150 hours unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 20 days.

Lomax pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article in a public place and possession of cannabis, after a small quantity of the class B drug was found upon him during his arrest. He was given a 10-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months, plus 150 hours of community service and a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Radley-Braithwaite admitted affray and two counts of possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was locked up for 10 months.

Connor Kelly

The thug stabbed a sixth form student after flying into a rage at a party.

Connor Kelly had only recently been handed a suspended sentence for arson when he attacked his victim at a party in Wirral earlier this year. The 22-year-old had an argument with his ex before taking a knife and lunging at his victim, an A-level student who had done nothing to provoke him.

He was left with a puncture wound to his left hand as a result. Kelly fled after the attack but was quickly arrested.

Despite his young age, the knifeman has a slew of convictions - including for robbery. He was jailed for two years.

Phil Hudson

The vile pervert sent his partner a video of himself performing a sex act in front of a young girl.

Phil Hudson said "what have I done" as police stormed his home. Three months after the 33-year-old and the woman broke up, she went to Huyton Police Station and reported his disturbing behaviour.

His ex told officers he had "started to disclose his fantasies and desires around children". Seven indecent images of children aged as young as eight were discovered on the Pets at Home worker's phone after the raid, as were extreme pornographic images.

The video in question, which lasted just over a minute, showed Hudson naked and holding his phone recording the incident. He admitted offences including engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and was jailed for 27 months.

Jozef Plavnicky

A biker was left lying on the road with his bone on show after the drunken driver crashed into him.

Jozef Plavnicky, 42, was trying to make an illegal manoeuvre by ignoring a no U-turn sign when his Audi A3 "jumped forward" and crashed into a motorbike. Rider Aston Connerty was knocked from his bike and suffered a life-changing injury to his right foot.

It was feared he would have to have the foot amputated, but doctors were able to save it. Plavnicky, who works for a bedding company, initially pulled over at the scene at the junction of East Lancashire Road and Back Gilmoss Lane, Fazakerley, but then reversed direction and drove off.

About five minutes later police officers, unaware of the collision, saw him at Randles Farm Interchange with substantial damage to the front offside of his vehicle. They followed the 42-year-old onto the M57, where he was seen swerving and travelling at 45mph on a 70 mph section.

After being pulled over at the end of the motorway, his speech was "slurred" and his eyes "glazed" and he was found to be more than double the drink driving limit. Plavnicky admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for 34 months.

Michael Walker

The knifeman pulled out a blade in a corner shop before being chased down the street and stabbed in the head with a machete.

Michael Walker brandished the knife in front of shocked customers, including terrified children, after a row erupted over parking. He produced the "very large" weapon from the waistband of his shorts, held it above his head and made a stabbing movement in a downwards motion.

His neighbour then attempted to run him over with his car and "hacked" at him with the fearsome weapon. The 34-year-old was left with blood "spurting" from his head after the incident at the Go Local Extra store on Roughwood Drive in Kirkby.

Walker admitted affray and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was jailed for a year.

Thomas Crawford

The dealer was found with drugs with a street value of up to £110,000 in a Kirkdale house.

Thomas Crawford's part in the county lines drugs operation to supply cocaine and ketamine was busted when police made the discovery. The raid was carried out as part of Merseyside Police's Project Medusa on July 18, with more than £8,000 in cash also seized.

The 28-year-old, of Keithley Walk in Speke, was jailed for six years.

Anthony Bowden

The heroin smuggler was a key member of a major gang run led by "Jabba the Hutt".

The Merseyside-based organised crime group imported and supplied millions of pounds of class A drugs. Anthony Bowden, one of Jabba's most closely trusted associates, was locked up for 21 years over the ring.

This large-scale operation was organised on encrypted communications platform EncroChat. The OCG's boss used a device with the handle JabbaTheHutt as he directed the sale of more than 84kg heroin and 17kg cocaine.

Of this amount, the gang had been responsible for the importation of more than 20kg of heroin and 4kg of coke. Personal trainer Bowden operated under the handle HyenaJaw and was "closely trusted" by the Star Wars-inspired "head of the operation", arranging the purchase and sale of drugs "on a commercial scale".

Keenan Fairclough

A woman was jogging in a park when she was grabbed by the neck from behind and dragged into bushes.

The victim was left fearing for her life after Keenan Fairclough placed her in a chokehold and demanded cash while desperate for ketamine. Afterwards, the runner posted about her ordeal on Facebook.

She was then messaged by the 21-year-old's step-mum, who was concerned from the description given that he was the culprit. She sent pictures of the defendant, and it was confirmed he had been the attacker.

The dad was then caught lurking in the same area again three days later in suspicious circumstances and arrested. Fairclough was jailed for 40 months after admitting attempted robbery.

Peter Lynch

The drug dealer used the pseudonym "Eager Ape", had close links to Spain and was involved in the supply of nearly 300kg of cocaine and cannabis.

Peter Lynch "entered the big time" of the criminal underworld after losing his job in the construction industry due to ill health. The dad went on to trade in huge quantities and paid his underlings wages of thousands of pounds every month to carry out illicit activities on his behalf.

The 43-year-old deployed encrypted communications platform EncroChat in order to conduct his shady dealings, using the handle EagerApe. This saw him arrange to deal 277kg of cannabis and two kilos of cocaine.

The father-of-three had contacts in Spain, with images found on his Encro phone showing drugs being packaged in the country and discussions referencing "boats being ready for a dummy run" for the importation of drugs into the UK. Lynch was jailed for seven year and four months after admitting conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis.

Lee Ashton

A man who was stabbed by a gang could have died if he had not been saved by a passing ambulance.

Lee Ashton knifed his victim, who was living in a tent in a park at the time, in the back due to his jealousy that he had begun a new relationship with his former partner. The frightening attack followed a crime spree in which the thug stole firearms during a burglary and robbed a cyclist at gunpoint.

Robert Bassnett was left with the blade left lodged in his chest cavity after the assault, but happened to be discovered lying injured in the street by paramedics. One emergency services worker said they "didn't think he would have been able to tolerate that level of blood loss for much longer".

Ashton then had a friend pick him and his new girlfriend up and asked him to dispose of the clothes he had been wearing as he checked into a hotel. The 23-year-old was found guilty of wounding, and was jailed for eight years.

Joshua Moorcroft

The scammer fraudulently claimed more than £75,000 in bogus travel insurance claims.

Joshua Moorcroft, from Dovecot, invented reasons for why he was unable to catch the flights to claim huge sums of cash. In October 2019, he took out a multi-trip worldwide travel insurance policy in and submitted a claim for a missed flight from Manchester to New York just nine days later.

The conman told his insurer his taxi broke down on the way to the airport due to an exploded tyre. Around two months later, Moorcroft made another claim for a missed flight - this time from Manchester to Qatar, stating he was involved in a car crash on the way to the airport.

Three false claims were then submitted in February 2020 over missed trips while he was apparently having surgery on a fractured hand. Moorcroft admitted fraud and was jailed for 16 months.

Kenneth Kavanagh

The child rapist branded one of his victims a liar as he was jailed for 20 years.

Kenneth Kavanagh raped a seven-year-old boy and sexually assaulted a girl when she was aged as young as six. Decades later, he has finally been brought to justice - but attempted to heckle the woman he abused as a child as she outlined the devastating impact his crimes have had on her.

The morbidly obese 74-year-old - who appeared in court via video link to HMP Liverpool in a wheelchair - was heard saying "money, money, money, money" at the beginning of the hearing, before being placed on mute. He also shook his head throughout and made hand gestures, including rubbing his thumb against his index finger and middle finger.

The pensioner appeared to mouth the word "liar" as the victim bravely read a statement to the court. Kavanagh was convicted of seven counts of indecent assault, two of buggery and one of indecency with a child following a trial.

William Rumsby

The paedophile attempted to pin the blame on his own son when he was caught with videos of boys having sex.

William Rumsby accessed the dark web in order to collect a stash of indecent images of children for the second time and installed a multitude of software on his tablet computer in a bid to cover his tracks. He then told a "series of lies" when police came knocking at his door.

The pensioner was handed four-month imprisonment suspended for two years and a seven-year sexual harm prevention order in December 2016 after being convicted of possessing and making indecent images of children. But the 71-year-old flouted this SHPO by downloading similar vile materials again.

Rumsby falsely told police that the Samsung device that the pictures and videos were found on belonged to his son. He admitted possession of indecent images, two counts of making indecent images and breaching a sexual harm prevention order and was jailed for 20 months.

Sean Clamp

The robber told staff "I'm a nice guy" after holding up a bookmakers and a pharmacy armed with a length of pipe which he attempted to pass off as a gun.

Sean Clamp silently handed staff a note bearing the words "give me money and no-one will get hurt", while another worker was left so terrified that she fell off her chair. The "career criminal" made less than £100 from the two raids, which were both carried out on the same evening.

In one, he entered Park Street Pharmacy in Bootle wearing a helmet and handed an employee a note with the words "give me money and no-one will get hurt" in capital letters. As he left, he told her: "I'm not a bad guy."

Clamp has a staggering 111 previous convictions for 233 offences. He admitted robbery, attempted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and was jailed for five years.

Mark Woolley

The "controlling" domestic violence thug headbutted his partner and broke her nose after demanding "respect" from her and claiming she would "never meet anyone like him".

Mark Woolley and his partner had been arguing during the weekend of October 29 and she asked him to leave. The 50-year-old told his victim: "You will lose the best thing in your life - you will be on your own forever."

He pressed his head against hers before moving it away briefly then slammed it back against her nose. She was left "shocked", while there was "blood everywhere".

Woolley admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was jailed for a year.

Peter Stevens

Peter Stevens drove a motorbike at police officers and said "I smoke yous" as he sped away from them.

The 25-year-old nearly ran over the PCs and pedestrians when he mounted the pavement at speed on a main road. The chase came only days after the convicted drug dealer had been released from prison.

Patrols ordered Stevens to stop, but he continued to drive at them. The biker "broke at the last minute, skidded and fishtailed" - "almost striking" the emergency services workers in the process - then delivered his taunt as he attempted to escape.

The defendant admitted dangerous driving, driving without a licence, driving without insurance and drug driving and was locked up for 14 months. He told a judge: "I should have just kept my head down when I got home lad."

Donna Thomas

A woman who was caught shoplifting the day after she was spared prison has now been jailed.

Donna Thomas was given a suspended sentence for nine counts of theft and possession a bladed article in a public place in May this year. The following day, the 47-year-old was caught stealing joints of meat and two car battery chargers from the Lidl supermarket on Edge Lane.

Thomas admitted theft and was jailed for eight weeks. Sentencing, Recorder Richard Conley said: "Yours is a sad case because for 46 years you were a law-abiding person.

"Something must have happened to knock your life off the rails. I hope when you come out in a month's time you will be clean and in a position to stay out of trouble."

Colin Chapman

The former bus driver accused his girlfriend of spiking his food before biting her on the nose.

Colin Chapman left his partner bloodied and bruised after a "prolonged and persistent" drunken attack at the couple's Wirral home, which also saw him knee his victim in the face.

The 56-year-old accused her of "adulterating" his meal and told her to taste it as he believed there was "something untoward in it". He then grabbed hold of her, pulled her to the floor, kneed her and bit her.

Their relationship has since ended and she has since moved back to her native Wales to "start afresh", having "packed up and moved to a completely new area" in order to be with her abuser. Chapman was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after a trial and was jailed for 18 months.

Dean Gorst

The drug dealer peddled crack cocaine and heroin from a user's house.

Police raided the property on Milton Road in Widnes town centre on June 9 after receiving "intelligence" in relation to the supply of illicit substances. Inside, officers saw Dean Gorst standing behind the sofa and the tenant Leanne Beneke running into the kitchen.

A search uncovered 46 wraps of crack cocaine worth £10 each and 56 packages of heroin of the same value. These were spread among "bake boxes" on the living room table, inside Gorst's coat and behind the sofa. Officers also seized two graft phones and £337 in cash.

Two samurai swords found at the property did not result in any charges. Gorst admitted two counts of possession of crack cocaine and heroin with intent to supply and was jailed for three years.

Michael Conley

The drug dealer was caught with cocaine between the cheeks of his backside and claimed it was for personal use.

Four bags of cocaine were found in Michael Conley's bottom during a strip search by police. He then told the officers.: "It's for personal use, it's for the weekend".

Merseyside Police searched his home on Melling Road, Aintree, where they found 17 more bags of white powder, also identified as cocaine. The overall estimated street value of the cocaine was £2,086, while £772.10 in cash was also seized.

Conley admitted two counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply. The 46-year-old was jailed for a year.

Andrew Evans

The "despicable" fraudster led his 80-year-old victim to cash machines 150 times in order to steal more than £50,000 from him.

Serial scammer Andrew Evans posed as a campervan salesman and claimed that he was taking the regular payments to go towards a vehicle which he never provided. The pensioner was left unable to afford to heat his home as a result.

Evans admitted four counts of fraud during an earlier hearing and was given a further five years behind bars. Sentencing, Judge David Aubrey QC said: "You took it all, all his life savings.

"You fleeced and bled him dry. Just as blood runs through your veins, I regret to say, so does dishonesty and the targeting of the elderly."

Richard Murray

The pervert, who showed a "14-year-old girl" his naked body, was jailed after breaching the terms of the sex offenders' register.

Richard Murray was spared jail in January 2021 after being ensnared by paedophile hunters. The 53-year-old thought he had been sending obscene Facebook messages to a child, but he had actually been speaking to a decoy.

He had requested photos of the child and "told her he was naked and in the bath". The paedophile then video called the 'girl', with a four-minute video beginning with him topless before he moved the camera to his naked genitals.

Murray then failed to inform the police when he moved home, in breach of his notification requirement. He was jailed for a year.

Michael Moon

A man stabbed his ex's mum in the street 22 times before trying to run the critically-injured 67-year-old over with his car.

The grandma's arm was partially-amputated during a sickening and unprovoked assault by cocaine and vodka-fuelled Michael Moon, but she managed to roll out of the way of the oncoming vehicle - despite laying stricken on the ground with grave and life-changing injuries and still having the eight-inch knife lodged in her shoulder. Carmel Ratcliffe only survived the attack thanks to vital treatment from a neighbour, who happened to be a recently retired paramedic.

Moon was jailed for 22 years earlier this week after admitting attempted murder. The incident came after he blamed his victim for the breakdown of his relationship with her daughter and subsequent difficulties with child contact.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the 39-year-old's relationship with Leanne Finnegan, with whom he shares a nine-year-old daughter, ended around three years ago. Issues began to arise while she was pregnant with their child, including an incident which saw him barge past the expectant mother - who at the time was holding another child, then aged one - and slash a sofa and a mattress with a blade.

There were numerous other disputes in the run up to his violent attack on Ms Finnegan's mum, including Moon falsely reporting Ms Finnegan for child neglect.

Shortly after 9pm on June 4 this year, he drove to Ms Ratcliffe's neighbourhood after consuming nearly two litres of vodka and more than half a gram of cocaine and spotted her walking along Tabley Avenue. Moon honked his horn and pulled up next to her, briefly speaking to her out of the window but then getting out of the car armed with a large 13in kitchen knife with an 8in blade.

He then stabbed Ms Ratcliffe eight times to the head and upper body, then knifed her a further 14 times after she fell to the floor. The knifeman "backed off" after neighbours ran to her aid.

Moon threw the knife at the pensioner from a distance of 4ft, causing it to became lodged under her shoulder blade. Ms Ratcliffe began crawling away in a desperate attempt to escape, but he told her he would "run her over" and mounted the curb as he drove away and veered towards her.

Miraculously, she was able to avoid being run over by rolling into bushes. Kenneth Reid, her neighbour and a former paramedic with nearly 30 years of experience, administered life-saving first aid at the roadside alongside Ms Ratcliffe's husband Alan.

Doctors later said Ms Ratcliffe likely would have died quickly had she received that medical help. Moon later admitted attempted murder and possession of a bladed article.

David Hughes

A man "bombarded" a colleague over a three-year campaign of "disturbing and sinister" online stalking after they kissed.

David Hughes, 41, hounded his colleague and his "paranoid" behaviour led her to thinking of ending her life. On Monday (September 5), Liverpool Crown Court heard that Hughes hacked the social media accounts of his stalking victim, repeatedly changed her passwords and followed one of her young children on Instagram.

Hughes, who identified with violent screen characters, "bombarded" her with texts as well as on social media. He sent her frightening "coded messages" including a photograph of her earring dropped in his car, saying: "bad things are coming your way."

Hughes, of Harris Street, Dentons Green, St Helens , pleaded guilty to stalking involving serious alarm between February 2018 and July last year, as well unauthorised computer access with intent to commit other offences and voyeurism. Sentencing him to two years and eight months behind bars, the judge, Recorder David Knifton, QC, said that Hughes had become "infatuated" with the stalking victim.

David Cooper

A dad-of-three sexually pursued a "13-year-old girl" despite knowing he could "lose everything".

David Cooper chatted with 13-year-old 'Grace' via Kik Messenger, and tried to incite the teenager to have sex with him. But unknown to Cooper, 'Grace,' was actually an undercover police officer whose role was to find paedophiles online.

Cooper agreed with the girl in a series of online messages that her mum would kill her if she knew about their chats. The defendant added: "She won't know but I could go to prison and lose everything."

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Cooper, 35, of Nicholas Road, Widnes , was a diagnostic technician at a car manufacturer on the brink of promotion. But the family man's career is now in ruins.

Cooper had told the girl he was 30 and lived in Warrington. He said the defendant pursued conversations with her despite her telling him she was 13 - and he repeatedly asked her to send him photographs of her thighs and crotch area in leggings or tights.

Cooper sent 'Grace' a photograph of his penis and moved their conversations onto Instagram. He told her "it's our secret" and made lewd remarks. He asked about her underwear, told her he was pleasuring himself while thinking about her, and said he wanted to have sexual intercourse with her.

The contact, which spanned from May 11 to August 4 last year, came to an end and he was arrested in November. Cooper pleaded guilty to attempted communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was jailed for 27 months.

Faye Dunn

A successful businesswoman who worked as an accountant for a drug gang wailed "I can't believe it" as she was jailed.

Former professional footballer Faye Dunn was ensnared at an airport after police rumbled the million pound cannabis trafficking operation. The mum became involved in the underworld when her business ventures began to falter due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Tuesday, that the 38-year-old and her dad Michael Dunn operated using EncroChat - an encrypted communications platform commonly used by criminals. But authorities gained access to the network in 2020, with Operation Venetic subsequently revealing that the daughter had been using the handle StiffNinja.

Meanwhile, her convicted drug smuggler father went under the name ZincBat. Faye Dunn was found to have been in close contact with a user known as LedZeppelin, with messages revealing she had "involvement in the supply and production of cannabis".

The mum-of-two was described as an "accountant for an organised criminal enterprise", while she had smuggled ill-gotten cash abroad. Nicola Daley, prosecuting, said: "She played an operational role within the drugs supply chain but appeared to have significant influence upon others in the chain, facilitating meetings between criminal associates in relation to the supply of controlled drugs, and also instructed others to undertake tasks such as the collection and movement of packages of both drugs and cash.

"Significantly, she appears to have acted as the accountant for the organised criminal enterprise and has concealed not only her EncroChat device but also cash when travelling abroad in order to evade detection by the authorities."

Faye Dunn was arrested at Manchester Airport on June 13 and remained silent throughout her interview with officers. Michael Dunn was held on July 11 and also gave no comment.

Both defendants, of Walpole Avenue in Whiston, admitted conspiracy to supply cannabis and money laundering. The former, previously of Kingsway Parade in Huyton, has previous convictions for drink driving and driving while disqualified.

Faye Dunn was jailed for three years and nine months, while her father received a two year prison term suspended for two years.

Paul Brown

A county line drug boss continued dealing crack cocaine and heroin after a close call with police.

Paul Brown, of Quickthorne Crescent, Stockbridge Village was caught out when he was spotted leaving a flat that was being used as a base to supply crack cocaine and heroin. When police spotted 42-year-old Brown leaving a home on Lilac Drive in Northwich, he was already under investigation after being stopped in a car on Runcorn Road in April 2019.

A search of the car he was a passenger in led officers to find two knives in the boot and £2k worth of drugs. Brown was arrested at the scene, questioned and released under investigation.

When he was arrested for a second time on June 9, 2022, he was seen leaving a flat which had crack cocaine, heroin, £200 in cash, three mobile phones and drug paraphernalia inside. Brown was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin and subsequently charged.

He appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, August 26 and was jailed for 68 months after pleading guilty to the offences.

David Alty

A thug who strangled a woman in a vicious assault killed his own dad 17 years ago in an attack so severe that doctors found more than 100 injuries across his body.

David Alty was jailed after launching an attack on a family friend who gave him a place to stay.

Alty, now 36, was heavily drunk and in the midst of a psychotic episode when he punched the woman before strangling her and telling her he was going to kill her at her home in Litherland earlier this year.

He was detained in hospital after admitting assault occasioning actual bodily harm after the woman, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, said she feared she was about to die during the attack.

Lyn Karran

A nan posed as an accountant in a scam potentially worth up to £1.2million.

Lyn Karran submitted fake expenses claims to HM Revenue and Customs on behalf of dozens of clients, swindling the public purse out of at least £300,000 in doing so. The 46-year-old is now beginning a lengthy prison sentence, only days after the birth of her first grandchild.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday that the nan ran previously a firm by the name of LK Accounting Services. Between October 2015 and 2017, she acted as an "unauthorised tax agent" - making fraudulent repayment claims for her customers in order to "enrich herself".

Karran, who is also known as Lyn Wilson, secured a total of £1.2million for 150 clients - most of whom were plumbers and heating engineers whose work she gained through word of mouth and liaised with via WhatsApp - during this period. Peter Killen, prosecuting, described how they were "generally on a PAYE taxation basis and unfamiliar with the self-assessment scheme".

She instructed them to register for self-assessment and provide her with their personal details, giving her control of their accounts. Karran, of Tithebarn Lane in Melling, never asked the workmen to provide receipts and never told them of the value of the claims being made in their names.

These included backdated payments from up to three years earlier. They paid her a flat fee of £150 plus 10% of the rebates earned, netting her around £190,000.

Karran's company also had a "misleading" website which "gave the impression it was a professional registered business". She "failed to follow the rules required of fee-earning tax agents" and did not register with HMRC or report that she was acting on behalf of others when completing self-assessment tax returns.

The amounts claimed triggered an automated response from software and led to an investigation into the 150 tradesmen, beginning in 2017. At this point, Karran ceased contact with her customers and stopped replying to messages.

She was eventually charged with fraud and was found guilty by jury earlier this month. She was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Simon Rogers

A drug dealer hid nearly £30,000 of heroin and cannabis in his own children's rucksacks in a desperate attempt to avoid being caught red-handed by police.

Simon Rogers, from Formby, stashed the illicit substances in the kids' bags after he was pulled over while driving a stolen Audi with his two young sons in the back. The opportunist dad almost got away with his audacious attempt, but officers ultimately discovered the drugs alongside tens of thousands of pounds in ill-gotten cash.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday that the owner of the grey Audi Q2 awoke at 6am on June 10 this year to find that her SUV had been taken from outside her house in Gateshead overnight. Then, at around 4pm on July 15, Merseyside Police spotted the stolen vehicle being driven on cloned number plates in the Kirkby, Aintree and Maghull areas.

Driver Rogers was subsequently boxed in by officers on the M57 northbound and detained. The 40-year-old was allowed to explain the situation to his children before they were transported to the homes of other family members.

He was also given the chance to gather their belongings in the car in holdalls before being taken into custody. Police subsequently attempted to carry out a search of his Alt Road home, but the house key was not on a set that had been seized.

Officers then returned to search the bags that the boys had been left with, hoping to find the key. Instead, they found a block of heroin and two of cannabis resin plus a "huge amount of cash" totalling £15,000 with his nine-year-old son - who had been dropped at his grandma's in Kirkby.

The other youngster had been taken to his mum's house in Speke. There, a search of his belongings revealed paperwork in his dad's name and another block of cannabis resin stashed underneath a bundle of clothing.

The authorities did not find the outstanding key, but were ultimately let into the address at roughly 8pm by Rogers' partner. More monies were discovered in the kitchen, with £1,000 in a handbag and £21,800 in a cupboard.

A search of the car then revealed a further block of cannabis resin. The 369g of heroin was found to be of 49% purity with a street value of up to £22,000, while the cannabis was worth an estimated £5,200.

Rogers admitted possession of heroin and cannabis with intent to supply, handling stolen goods, possession of criminal property and driving without insurance. He was locked up for four-and-a-half years.

Mark Green

A sushi restaurant worker turned his entire flat into a £90,000 cannabis farm then claimed the "extraordinary" amount of drugs was for personal use.

Mark Green appeared before Liverpool Crown Court for sentence on Thursday after admitting production of cannabis. Carmel Wilde, prosecuting, described how police raided his apartment on Feltwood Close in West Derby on January 6.

Inside, officers discovered the whole of the unit had been given over to a grow with a potential yield of between £20,000 and £90,000 of class B drugs. No bed was found in the flat and there was no food in the fridge.

This was because Green had not been living in the social housing property, instead "sofa surfing" at friends' houses. The tenant initially claimed the cannabis was intended for his own use, but later conceded it was a "commercial operation" for onward supply.

Green, now of St Albans Road in Bootle , also pleaded guilty to abstracting electricity. He was jailed for two years due to his "poor compliance with court orders" - the offences were committed while he was on post-sentence supervision.

Carlos Graham

A serial burglar broke into a woman's home while she was attending her dad's funeral.

Carlos Graham stole a haul of goods worth more than £25,000 over the course of one morning during a spate of break-ins. The "regular, repeated and habitual" offender was previously part of an organised crime group which tied up victims and attacked them with weapons.

Andrew McInnes, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that the burglaries occurred in the Sefton Park area on the morning of June 30 this year. Among the properties targeted was a flat on Croxteth Road.

One of the occupants was working away in Canada at the time, while his partner had been out between 11am and 4pm. She returned to find the door deadlocked and the kitchen window open, and was forced to climb inside as a result.

There, she discovered that her home had been "ransacked", with coats left scattered around after being searched and drawers opened. Among the items stolen were a wallet with two credit cards, two backpacks, a PlayStation and games and £25,000 of professional recording equipment - described as the "tools of the trade" of the absent owner.

Footage showed Graham burgling the home and he went on to target an address at nearby Ashby House, on Ivanhoe Road. Occupant Ben Davies left home for work at around 7.30am but received a mobile phone notification shortly before 11am, with his CCTV system alerting him of an intruder.

Graham could be seen on the footage outside the patio doors attempting to gain entry. Mr Davies later mentioned this to David Ashton, who lived in a neighbouring unit with his wife.

Her dad's funeral was to be held that day, and she left the flat at around 9am. Mr Ashton followed on shortly after 11.45am.

He was informed of the attempted break-in by Mr Davies at around 6pm and returned home. While he did not notice anything amiss at first, when his partner arrived later she found that the spare bedroom had been broken into - with an iPad and a digital camera taken.

Graham admitted two counts of burglary and one of attempted burglary. He was jailed for five years and three months.

Adam Baker

A drinker befriended a man at a pub before robbing him at knifepoint in his own home.

Adam Baker met the victim in a pub in Bootle and was invited back to his home to keep drinking.

However, hours later, after gaining the man's trust, Baker used a knife from the kitchen to threaten the man into giving him his bank card and pin number. Baker, 30, and an accomplice then stole hundreds from his victim's account.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Baker targeted the man after meeting him in the Cooksons Bridge pub in July this year. Baker, of Pall Mall, Liverpool, was jailed for four years and one month and a restraining order prevents him from contacting the victim for five years.

Jordan Duckett

The dealer pushed drugs around Merseyside and Cheshire but has now been jailed after being caught by a graft phone.

Jordan Duckett came to the attention of police after officers investigating the county lines gang 'Scouse Macca Team' after photographs of him and texts sent from him were found on the device. It came after detectives investigating the gang carried out searches at a property on Warkworth Court, Ellesmere Port, in March this year.

When the 26-year-old's home in Wallasey was subsequently raided, 64 wraps of crack cocaine - valued at £640 - were discovered. He admitted being concerned in the supply of cocaine, ketamine and cannabis and possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply and was given three years and four months in prison.

Zayd Alasaly

The robber laughed after stealing an e-scooter at knifepoint from a woman who "froze in fear".

Zayd Alasaly, from Toxteth, was one of two men who attacked Roberta Kirkpatrick when she visited the Spar shop on Newtown Road in Carlisle shortly before 11pm on July 15. She had left her vehicle near to the entrance, with the 20-year-old defendant and 19-year-old accomplice Liam Bateman also being present in the store at the time.

Miss Kirkpatrick left the shop, and as she pulled a cigarette out of her pocket Alasaly threatened her with a large kitchen knife. She fled to a friend's house afterwards "shaking, crying, visibly upset".

Both Alasaly, of Corinto Street, and Bateman, from Carlisle, admitted robbery, with the former also pleading guilty to possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was handed four years behind bars.

Brandon Turton

The street racer was speeding at up to 93mph in a 30mph zone when he struck and killed a 14-year-old girl.

Courtney Ellis' teenage sister witnessed her sibling's horrific death, while the youngster's mum unknowingly encountered the scene of the crash as she drove home from work. Driver Brandon Turton today cried as he was jailed for causing the fatal collision, having been racing at high speeds around residential streets in convoy with another car at the time.

The schoolgirl, from Haydock, died instantly after being hit by the 21-year-old's Renault Megane on Blackbrook Road in St Helens shortly after 9.45pm on September 19, 2020. He had been "showing off or driving in anger", having made unsuccessful attempts to woo a female passenger.

Turton was handed six years and nine months in prison after admitting causing death by dangerous driving and dabbed his eyes with a tissue as he was led down to the cells. Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: "Courtney was a loving child with enormous compassion and promise, who leaves behind a shattered and traumatised family."

Matthew Sanderson

The carjacker attempted to rob a woman armed with a pair of scissors before entering a shop claiming to be from Trading Standards then brandishing a fake gun.

Matthew Sanderson demanded to see the visas of Polish workers in the store before attacking them and taking cash from the till. Only hours before, he had tried to steal a lone female's car as she filled her tyres with air on a petrol station forecourt.

Driver Pauline Garner, 58, "acted with commendable bravery" by disarming her assailant after being attacked at the BP garage on Priory Road in Anfield on her way to work. Sanderson responded by biting her on the arm and claiming that she had robbed him.

Hours later, he raided Tatry on Breck Road and threatened to shoot staff before stealing cash. The 38-year-old admitted offences including robbery and assault with intent to rob and was jailed for eight years.

Gareth Rees

A revenge porn victim was left feeling "distraught" after her ex-boyfriend posted explicit pictures and videos of her on social media.

Gareth Rees uploaded the materials of his former partner on Facebook and Instagram, as well as sending them directly to her loved ones. She was left so devastated by his actions that she was unable to even walk the dog.

The 44-year-old defendant had a "strong, visceral and disproportionate reaction" to the end of their year-long relationship and sent "sexual materials" of the victim to her daughter's boyfriend - who did not open the message. Just over a week later, he posted an explicit video of the woman on Instagram. The following day, Rees messaged a pornographic image to another of her ex-boyfriends but deleted the picture before it was seen.

Around a month later, he posted a photograph of her to Facebook in which her face could not been seen. Magistrates jailed him for a year after he admitted disclosing private sexual photographs with intent to cause distress and breaching a non-molestation order.

John Smith

The drug dealer ruined his "promising" Liverpool FC career by getting involved with cocaine and heroin.

John Smith once had a "promising career" as a youth player with the Reds, but "wasted his talent" by falling into drink and drugs. And the now 38-year-old was caught with thousand of pounds of class A substances when police pulled over his car.

When his home on Carr Lane in Norris Green was raided, he owned up and "told the officers where the drugs were". In total, 22g of crack cocaine worth around £2,460 and 23g of heroin with a potential street value of £2,080 was seized.

The search also uncovered £3,130 in cash. He admitted possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and was jailed for 32 months.

David Kay

A thug strangled his girlfriend in the street only one week into their relationship.

David Kay drunkenly throttled his new partner in the early hours after a night out in St Helens town centre. The horrifying assault only stopped when the attack was spotted by passing police officers.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Tuesday that the dad-of-10 had been with Janice Gregory for around a week when they went out to several pubs and bars on the evening of Sunday, July 31. The couple were in the Duke of Cambridge pub at around 2.30am on August 1 when Kay became "loud and aggressive".

Kirsty Linforth, prosecuting, said Ms Gregory told him she wanted to leave and go home but he was "not happy with this". The 51-year-old - of Thatto Heath Road - told her "you're not f***ing going home" and followed her out of the pub.

Once "out of sight" on Claughton Street, Kay stopped his former partner by some railings and began shouting at her and threatened "I will kill you if you leave me". He grabbed his victim around the neck with both hands and began squeezing and "used his full weight" to push her back over the railings.

Ms Gregory was left unable to breathe and "terrified she was going to break her back". Kay "repeated this action four or five times" while making threats, before a patrolling special constable noticed the incident in progress and intervened.

Kay was arrested and later admitted intentional strangulation and was jailed for two years. He was also handed a restraining order banning him from contacting Ms Gregory for the next five years and told to pay a victim surcharge.

Nick Clayton

A headteacher messaged more than 100 boys on Facebook asking for naked pictures before claiming that his account had been hacked.

Nick Clayton, from Hoylake, held lewd chats with children aged as young as 10 while working as the principal of a British international school in Iraq. His campaign of grooming only ended when police swooped to arrest him at an airport.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the 38-year-old contacted the profiles of 131 boys - mostly based in South Asia - over a three-month period in 2017 in order to "solicit" indecent images of the youngsters. Jonathan Rogers, prosecuting, described how the conversations also showed "evidence of travelling to meet children" - although Clayton was only charged in connection with attempts to groom four teens.

These chats involved a 12-year-old boy from Cambodia, a 13-year-old in Indonesia, a child aged 14 from the Philippines and a 16-year-old in Sri Lanka. The paedophile "bribed them with gifts" before demanding sick photographs.

Louis Howard

A barman sent naked pictures of himself to a "12-year-old girl" - but unbeknown to him, he was actually being caught in a sting by undercover police.

Louis Howard claimed to be aged 15 as he attempted to solicit indecent images from the decoy Snapchat account. The 22-year-old also collected a sick stash of videos of children being raped and distributed such materials online.

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday that the university student sent a friend request to the profile - which was being operated by an officer from the regional crime squad - in October last year. Howard, of Trouville Road in Anfield, falsely stated that he was a 15-year-old boy, and over a four-week period "engaged in conversation which was evidently sexual".

The paedophile asked the youngster for photographs of her naked and in her underwear, instructing her to take off her top and skirt. He also sent her pictures of himself in his boxers, then removed his pants and sent snaps of his penis - telling her: "You have made me very hot."

Merseyside Police then raided Howard's home, with the defendant being present and arrested. His mobile phone was seized and was later found to contain 37 indecent images of children.

Howard admitted attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child, attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity, attempting sexual communications with a child, two counts of distributing indecent images, possession of indecent images, three counts of making indecent images and possession of prohibited images. He was jailed for 26 months by Judge Stuart Driver KC.

Adam Fletcher

A murderer who stabbed a dad-of-two through the heart was jailed for life with a minimum of 22 years.

Adam Fletcher killed 30-year-old Paul Stenson on Princess Drive, West Derby, less than a week before Christmas last year after the pair had an argument at a house party. Fletcher, 28, had denied murder but was found guilty by a jury after a six-week trial earlier this year.

Fletcher murdered Stenson after a disagreement at a house party was escalated by Fletcher.

Jurors heard Mr Stenson's murder occurred minutes after the fight broke out between him and Fletcher. Mr Pratt said the atmosphere at the party Fletcher and Mr Stenson were attending was good until a disagreement between them over whether Fletcher had been trying to flirt with Mr Stenson's partner, Samantha Rosser.

The court heard Mr Stenson punched Fletcher and then the two started to scuffle before agreeing to go outside to finish the fight. Mr Pratt said there was no indication to Mr Stenson or anyone else that the fight would involve knives but that Fletcher decided to run and grab a kitchen knife from inside the house before stabbing Mr Stenson with it.

While Fletcher was jailed for murder, his best friend, Nathan Finnegan, and the mum of his child, Demi Walsh, were both given custodial sentences after being convicted of assisting an offender.

The pair both helped Fletcher in the aftermath of Mr Stenson's stabbing, helping him evade justice for days.

Both denied the offence but were convicted following their trial with Fletcher. Walsh was sentenced to 18 months in prison while Finnegan received a 14 month sentence.

Andrew Holligan

A dealer threw nearly £5,000 of drugs out of his bedroom window and into his neighbour's garden when police raided his house.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that a search warrant was executed at Andrew Holligan's home in Greenside Avenue, Aintree, at around 9.45am on August 19 this year. Prosecutor Kirsty Linforth described how the 31-year-old was seen by officers launching a hold-all out of an upstairs window into the garden of a next door property.

This hold-all was subsequently found to contain numerous bags of cannabis, a further amount of the class B drug in a box and a set of scales. Five mobile devices were recovered during the raid, one of which was being used as a graft phone.

A total of £300 in cash was also seized. The 315g of illicit substances were estimated to have a street value of up to £4,715. Holligan later claimed that he had "bought the drugs for £1,250 and would have sold them on to friends for approximately £2,000". But this was refuted by the prosecution.

Holland admitted possession of cannabis with intent to supply and was locked up for 18 months. He was also told to pay a victim surcharge - with forfeiture of the ill-gotten money, phone and paraphernalia and the destruction of the drugs also ordered.

Philip Legge

A cocaine dealer was caught with drugs stashed down his trousers on a convenience store car park.

Philip Legge turned to trafficking illicit substances after racking up crippling gambling debts. The dad-of-four cried as he was jailed over his secret activities earlier this week.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that police on patrol in the Crosby area in February this year spotted the 45-year-old's BMW 3 Series stop at the Tesco Express store on Coronation Road before a man walked out of a nearby house and entered the passenger seat.

They then observed a "short conversation and a hand-to-hand transaction". The customer got back out of the car, and officers approached. Legge too exited the vehicle and dropped £60 in cash to the floor, while he was also holding wraps of cocaine in his hands.

"Straight away", he admitted that he had "more drugs down the back of his trousers". A search of his home subsequently found one further wrap while a large amount of cash was discovered stashed in a safe.

Meanwhile, messages on his phone were "indicative of drug trafficking". In total, 23 street deals of cocaine of between 33 and 35 per cent purity were recovered by Merseyside Police.

Legge admitted possession of cocaine with intent to supply and was locked up for two-and-a-half years.

Dean Eastham

A killer lurked outside his estranged ex-girlfriend's house late at night wearing a balaclava and armed with a pair of garden shears.

Dean Eastham was previously convicted of manslaughter after the then teenager accidentally shot his best friend dead when the pair were "messing around" with a handgun in his bedroom. Now aged 29, he has been hauled back before the courts after subjecting his former partner to a troubling campaign of harassment over a period of more than six months.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that he and Joanne Cartwright had been in a relationship for nine years and have a three-year-old daughter together. But Sarah Griffin, prosecuting, described how she ended their romance in October 2021 after being told Eastham had been cheating on her with another woman who he had got pregnant.

But the plasterer was "unable to accept the end", and at around 6.45am on October 27 he attended her Huyton home with his mum - who stood at the front door shouting upstairs. Ms Cartwright went downstairs to speak to her through a window but when she opened it her ex appeared from the side of the address.

Eastham, of Beaconsfield in Prescot, struggled with her to keep the window open as she tried to shut it while hurling abuse. Their then two-year-old child began crying upstairs, saying: "I'm scared."

While she went to check on the girl, her mother Lydia Cartwright remained by the open window. But Eastham said "f*** this" and forcibly climbed in, damaging the window as he did so.

He ran up to the bedroom where his former partner was on the phone to the police shouting for help which caused him to flee. Afterwards, the defendant began "constantly contacting" her.

This continued over the coming weeks until one incident in December when he turned up at her home wearing a balaclava and holding shears. On a later visit, he assaulted her.

Eastham admitted stalking, a public communications offence, two counts of criminal damage and possession of ketamine. Appearing in court via video link to HMP Altcourse, he was jailed for two years.

Michael Vose

The thug deliberately crashed his car into a bungalow where an elderly woman was sleeping.

Michael Vose crashed into Edna Kearns' home in a suicide attempt following a row with his girlfriend. The 40-year-old, from St Helens, got behind the wheel after she called the police regarding the row, which saw him attempt to throttle her before punching a hole in the wall and damaging a wardrobe mirror.

He told his partner that he was going to kill himself before he took off in the BMW, driving over a mini-roundabout and later smashing through a fence and into the house in Westhoughton, Bolton. Vose smashed through the wall and into the 92-year-old's bedroom, hitting her bed and leaving her with two fractured ankles and severe cuts to her legs.

Mrs Kearns died less than five months after the crash but, according to expert evidence, there was no link between the smash and her death. The driver admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of criminal damage and causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for four years.

Lewis Dunn

The thug tried to Facetime his girlfriend's dad to make him watch as he tortured her.

Lewis Dunn burnt his partner with cigarettes, stabbed her and threatened to cut her toes off in a nightmare ordeal. The 27-year-old's victim ran then through the streets in her pyjamas in order to escape her captor before hiding in a bin.

He held the 21-year-old against her will after calling her mum threatening: "I'll get some smackheads to come up and burn your house down. I'll stab you up."

She suffered 23 separate injuries at Dunn's hands after he consumed a cocktail of cocaine and alcohol. He admitted offences including false imprisonment and inflicting grievous bodily harm and was jailed for six years and eight months.

Paul Riley

A paedophile began distributing indecent images online months after being released from prison.

Paul Riley collected hundreds of sick pictures and videos of young children being raped and shared his vile stash with other perverts over the Kik messaging service. The dad had only recently been freed from a lengthy jail term for couriering heroin and crack cocaine in a £1.6million plot.

The horrific images involved children aged as young as five, while one 12-second film showed a six-year-old being raped. He had been released from a 40-month stretch in January 2021, only to begin accessing the photographs and movies online in May - then sharing them with other perverted individuals from June onwards.

The family man's home was raided by police in August last year. Riley admitted three counts of distributing indecent images, possession of extreme pornographic images, possession of indecent images and three charges of making indecent images and was jailed for two years.

Jack Roach

A dad and his son grabbed golf clubs and baseball bats as they fought two brothers on a quiet street.

Horrified neighbours watched as David and Jack Roach and Brendan and Michael Kennedy waged a bizarre brawl against each other in Woodchurch last year. The disorder, which apparently stemmed from an allegation of bike theft, started after one of the Kennedy brothers arrived at the Roach family home with a metal bar before the situation escalated rapidly.

All four men appeared before a judge on Thursday but only the youngest, 19-year-old Jack Roach, was sent to jail. His previous convictions for carrying weapons meant he was locked up for 11 months.

Callum Taylor-Greensmith

The thug filmed himself launching a sickening attack on a friend before showing footage of the attack to horrified members of the public.

Callum Taylor-Greensmith subjected David Hughes to a horrendous assault in Wirral last year before gloating to people at a caravan park which both men's families frequently visited. The attack left the victim requiring plates to be inserted into his head.

Mr Hughes was targeted after the two men had been drinking together over the weekend of the Champions League final before Taylor-Greensmith kicked him multiple times in the head. The court heard that the complainant cannot remember much of the assault, instead waking up on the floor of his living room in a pool of blood.

It then emerged Taylor-Greensmith had filmed the attack on his phone then went to the nearby caravan park and showed it to people in the clubhouse. The 22-year-old was jailed for four years and six months.

Anthony Atherton

A burglar was linked to a £500 meat raid on a Marks and Spencer branch after leaving his blood behind in the store.

Serial offender Anthony Atherton "fell back into his old ways" and broke into the shop in his desperation to feed his drug habit following the break-up of the dad-of-two's family. Less than a week later, the 38-year-old smashed his way through a Starbucks drive-thru with a hammer and dragged female baristas around by their hair.

He targeted M&S Foodhall on Queens Drive overnight on October 11 last year. The court was played footage from the closed shop in West Derby, which showed Atherton approaching in a bobble hat, putting a pair of gloves on and throwing a rock at the storefront three times in order to smash the window.

The premises had to remain shut until 11.30am the following day due to the damage caused by the break-in, which caused overall losses of £11,200 in goods stolen, a loss of trade and damage.

Atherton admitted burglary and was handed 12 months behind bars.

Andrew Cooper

The kidnapper was stabbed after abducting a 12-year-old boy, then tried to hotwire a motorbike.

Andrew Cooper whisked the youngster away on a train in a bizarre series of events. The schoolboy, whom he had never met before, and his friend were "chilling" in his flat after a "chance meeting". They played football and listened to music together before the complainant's friend left at roughly 10pm, leaving him alone in the property.

He then "offered the victim to stay". They then caught a train to Warrington, where Cooper "came across" a man who owed him money for drugs - who proceeded to slash him with a knife "several times" to his arms and chest.

After attempting to steal the motorcycle, he attended hospital for treatment to his injuries. The 24-year-old was jailed for a year after admitting child abduction.

Andrew Cain

The dog café owner was caught with more than £6,000 of heroin hidden underneath his floorboards.

Canine restaurateur Andrew Cain turned "warehouseman" for a Liverpool-based gang, who posted the illicit substances to Scotland and hid them in a park, after the collapse of his business. Police raided the 39-year-old's home on Sedgeley Walk in Huyton on October 16 last year and found 606 wraps of of the class A drugs.

Less than three weeks earlier on September 28 2021, a separate investigation in Scotland had discovered around a thousand wraps of heroin and crack cocaine found hidden on the banks of the River Don in a park in Stoneywood, Aberdeen. Cain's DNA was found on the wrappings, with a gang from Merseyside having been transporting and stashing the drugs for onward sale in the area.

He admitted possession of heroin with intent to supply and was locked up for four years The dealer previously ran Pups and Cups Bistro in Old Swan, but the café closed around Christmas 2019 when he and his business partner went their separate ways.

Robert Eaton

The thug launched an unprovoked attack on his victim by smashing a beer glass in his face in a transphobic attack.

Cocaine and alcohol-fuelled Robert Eaton assaulted the victim outside the Prenton Park pub in Tranmere, Wirral, in the early hours of Sunday, May 1, this year. The 18-year-old complainant was enjoying a quiet drink with family and friends at the time of the incident.

He was transitioning from male to female, and this was the first time he had ventured outside dressed as a woman. Eaton, 23, came and sat near the group and began staring at the victim.

When the group left the pub at around 1am, his assailant was lying in wait and approached the the teenager - hitting him in the face with a beer glass, knocking him to the ground with such force that he was briefly unconscious and lost three teeth. Eaton was jailed for four years and nine months after admitting attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm.

Andrew McClean

The paedophile was bailed after being caught trying to meet a "13-year-old" for sex but went on to target what he believed was another child while under investigation.

Andrew McClean was arrested on February 15 after messaging a supposed youngster and arranging to have sex with him in a public toilet near Southport Station. In fact, he was in contact with an adult member of a local ‘paedophile hunters’ group, who had set up the online profile as a decoy.

But three months later, after being released on bail, he once again began sending online messages of a sexual nature to what he believed was another 13-year-old boy, and arranged to meet him at Formby Station on May 18. Again, McClean was met with members of the pedophile hunters group.

The 39-year-old admitted arranging a child sex offence, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and attempting to meet a child following grooming. He was jailed for three years.

Connah Rutledge

The drug dealer had to be moved to three separate cells after defecating in his hands and smearing it across the rooms.

Connah Rutledge, 26, was arrested after his phone number was identified and found to be used as a graft phone to send messages to multiple people advertising the sale of crack cocaine and heroin. He was arrested at his property in Ellesmere on September 9 while on prison licence.

Rutledge was also found on CCTV footage from August 27, which showed him topping up the phone at a supermarket near to where he was staying at the time. When brought into police custody, he was moved to three different cells due to defecating in his hands and smearing it.

He pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin. He was sentenced to 45 months in prison.

Alfie Hodgin

The teenager was stabbed 27 times by a gang of men with machetes after trying to take over the running of a drugs ring.

Alfie Hodgin's dealing was uncovered by police after they found him lying in the street in a pool of his own blood, and with more than £2,000 of heroin and crack cocaine. This vicious assault had been an act of "retribution" after the 18-year-old had stolen drugs and a graft phone belonging to the county lines operation he had previously been working for.

Officers also seized £1,208 in cash from the defendant, while a graft phone - which contained dozens of flare messages advertising drugs for sale, which had been sent out to customers over the previous eight days - was found next to him on the ground.

In 2014, Hodgin became "one of the youngest people ever to receive an anti-social behaviour order" aged just 10. The teen admitted possession of heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply and being concerned in the supply of heroin and crack cocaine and was locked up for two-and-a-half years.

Carl Maclaren

A dad, whose kiss led to the death of his baby son, launched a vile attack on his ex-partner after spiralling into a self-destructive life of drink and drugs.

Carl Maclaren, 44, blamed himself after he unwittingly passed on the cold sore virus, herpes simplex, to his premature infant who died of multiple organ failure aged just two months in 2012. A court heard this week that he had trouble coming to terms with the death of Kaiden, whose life support system was switched off after he struggled for six weeks in hospital.

On the afternoon on May 11 this year, he broke into his former girlfriend's home, held her by the hair with one hand and began punching her with his other hand - causing her to fall to the floor. She screamed for help and feared she was going to die.

Maclaren pleaded guilty to burglary and attempting to inflict grievous bodily harm. He was jailed for three years.

Alexandru Lingurar

The drunken burglar was foiled when he was tackled by a dog, then stole and ate children's Easter eggs.

The chocolate treats had been left out in the garden of a family home in the early hours of Easter Sunday for a planned egg hunt. But Alexandru Lingurar scoffed them during a 24-hour crime spree, in which he also broke into a care home's laundry room and tried to steal residents' clothing from the tumble dryer.

The 60-year-old claimed to have been collecting for charity when confronted. He was arrested, but immediately continued stealing when released on bail - taking designer goods from a parker Land Rover, nicking booze from a house but being knocked down by the occupant's dog then eating the Easter eggs as the kids' dad watched on a Ring doorbell camera.

Lingurar also bit a police officer following the first incident. He admitted two counts of burglary, assaulting an emergency services worker and two counts of theft and was jailed for 40 months.

Anthony Hassell

The burglar chatted to staff in a city centre bar before sneaking upstairs, stealing £200 of alcohol and escaping out a fire exit.

Anthony Hassell took a dozen bottles of alcohol from Roxy Ballroom earlier this year. Prosecutors said the defendant, who has more than 40 convictions for theft, went into the Rainford Square premises just after 5.30pm on March 14.

CCTV footage showed him briefly speaking to staff near the bar on the lower level of the premises for number of minutes but when staff then moved he went to an area upstairs. Once there, he quickly grabbed a dozen bottles of alcohol and stuffed them into a black bin bag.

Hassell was then disturbed and managed to escape out a fire exit. The 37-year-old pleaded guilty to burglary and was jailed for two weeks.

Ryan Leonard

He was put to work dealing drugs after gangsters threatened him with a hot iron and forced him to undress on camera.

Ryan Leonard was held against his will and subjected to threats after racking up a debt, with the footage then widely circulated online. Police even believed that the 28-year-old's life was under threat, and he set about paying off the owed monies via a "persistent, professional" heroin and crack cocaine supplying operation.

He admitted possession of cocaine and heroin with intent to supply, supplying cocaine and heroin and money laundering and was jailed for 54 months. But his partner Brooke Morgan, who stashed her drug dealing boyfriend's drugs in her vagina, walked free from court.

She agreed to accompany Leonard on his supply missions after being subjected to domestic violence at his hands. Illicit substances were also stashed at her Kensington flat, but the expectant 30-year-old was described as having "performed a limited function under duress".

Lawrence Mitchell

The Liverpool man detained as he stepped off a plane in Jersey told customs officers "I want to be brutally honest with you lads" before admitting he had 16 packages of cocaine inside his body.

Lawrence Mitchell was one of three crooks jailed at the island's Royal Court after being caught trying to take advantage of its inflated costs of illegal drugs. The 37-year-old had flown from Liverpool John Lennon Airport on July 21 this year with the cocaine deals, wrapped inside condoms and concealed internally.

Jersey Customs and Immigration Service officers estimated the drugs were around 81 per cent in purity and worth up to £24,640 at street level. Customs officers also detained another Liverpool man, 20-year-old Elijah Silbourne - who concealed a kilogram of cocaine in the spare wheel well inside the boot of his car.

Mitchell, who has a long string of previous convictions, was jailed for seven years for class A drug importation. Silbourne was handed six years.

Michelle Griffiths

She was sent lingerie by men she met online, having received child abuse pictures from a paedophile.

Michelle Griffiths previously served a 40-month sentence after she was jailed in May 2019 for facilitating and arranging the commission of a child sex offence. The 38-year-old was also given a sexual harm prevention order for life, but found herself back in court on Monday for breaching its terms.

She admitted receiving money and lingerie from a man on a site called Kiss Chat, which resulted in her flouting the SHPO because she was prohibited from using a device with access to the internet without telling police within 48 hours and because she used a "social networking application or service without first providing her username to police". Shortly after this, Griffiths made a further admission that she had received "indecent images of children by a man she had been talking to" - who she described as a "paedophile".

The sex offender had also sent him naked pictures of herself. She was handed two years in prison after she pleaded guilty to three charges of breaching the order.

Chris Mogan

The dad-of-four ran up a drug debt and was attacked when he tried to refuse to go to Blackpool and run a county lines operation.

Chris Mogan admitted his involvement in a drugs ring dubbed 'Scouse JJ', which flooded the seaside town with cocaine and heroin. The court heard the 34-year-old had "come under pressure" to work for the gang to pay off a drug debt.

He was assaulted when he "tried to withdraw". He had worked for Jaguar for 11 years and also worked for Aintree Plastics before he started taking drugs.

Mogan pleaded guilty to being concerned in and offering to supply cocaine and heroin. He wiped away tears as he was jailed for 32 months.

John Carr

The cocaine dealer who was at court for sentencing lost his nerve and fled before his case was called on.

John Carr was then on the run for three months before being re-arrested and jailed for two years and four months. Liverpool Crown Court heard that the 45-year-old sought solace in class A drugs six years ago following the death of his sister.

He locked himself in the bathroom while flushing items down the toilet when police raided his home, discovering him in possession of illicit substances and cash. His defence counsel pointed out that this £30 sum was indicative of his level of dealing.

Carr was set to be sentenced on June 14 this year, but left the building ahead of the hearing. A warrant was issued for his arrest as a result and he was eventually apprehended.

Umar Anwar

A police officer was left "screaming in agony" after the van driver who'd been stopped on suspicion of transporting drugs ran over him.

The stop was made on a St Helens residential street after police became suspicious of the occupants of a white Transit van, parked nearby to where a hold all containing drugs and cash was found dumped in the road. When the vehicle pulled over, the officers were either side of the vehicle and said they were going to carry out a drugs search

But the driver, Umar Anwar suddenly slammed on the accelerator and drove off - dragging one behind him for a short distance and running him over. The PC feared he would never walk again after the incident.

Anwar admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving. He was jailed for 30 months.

Anthony Swarbrick

He launched a frenzied attack and stabbed his 60-year-old neighbour four times in a long-running row over parking.

Anthony Swarbrick attacked Stanley Greaves on May 19 with a rusty screwdriver, then grabbed a claw hammer from his neighbour's tool box and went in search of his wife. Fortunately, Mr Greaves managed to disarm Swarbrick who said: "I’ve got issues and I’m not happy with your cameras."

During the attack - described as "unprovoked, cruel and cowardly" - he lunged towards his victim's stomach with a "thrust of a sword" type motion. Mr Greaves was particularly worried as he had previously had major stomach surgery.

His assailant then told him "I know what I've done, you should ring the police". Swarbrick was jailed for 28 months.

Neil Morris

The paedophile dad was caught out after chatting to a '12-year-old girl' online, who was in fact an undercover police officer.

Neil Morris pleaded guilty to eight charges, including engaging in sexual communication with a child, and possessing a hoard of 23,853 images and videos of children being sexually abused. The vile stash also contained scenes of bestiality involving dead or live animals.

He said when his home was raided: 'I've been chatting. It came back, it's an illness.'"

His elderly father died months later. Morris, of Bridge Road in West Kirby, was jailed for three years and eight months.

Steven Arnold

The thug armed himself with a 12-inch chopping knife and stabbed his rival while he cowered in the back seat of a car.

Steven Arnold opened the door of Jack Williams' white Vauxhall Corsa and stabbed him three times in the leg at around 7.35am on May 15 this on Jubits Lane in St Helens. He then fled the scene and went to see his uncle, telling him: "Take me to France, I've done something stupid and I'm going to jail."

Instead, his uncle drove him to St Helens police station, then turned him in to police officers at the scene of the crime. It came after Arnold slapped his ex-girlfriend on a night, which led to in Mr Williams vandalising his dad's house.

The 23-year-old pleaded guilty to wounding and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was jailed for seven years and three month.

Obaid Mohammad

The teenager launched a "cruel and vicious assault" on a defenceless woman by hurling a frying pan full of boiling hot oil at her.

The victim described in her impact statement how she "had feared for her life" after Obaid Mohammad went berserk and threw the contents of the frying pan at her. The court heard there had been "issues" between the pair in the weeks leading up to the incident in the shared accommodation where they lived.

The scalding oil landed on her arm and neck and caused significant burns, leaving her with a permanent injury. She then tried to run away, but Mohammad followed her down the corridor with the frying pan in hand and swinging it at her.

The 20-year-old admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was jailed for 18 months.

David Campbell

The paedophile asked a girl if she wanted to see his guinea pigs and groomed her with gifts.

David Campbell subjected two children to a catalogue of sickening sexual abuse when they were aged as young as five. He was jailed for 17 years for his "unforgiveable" actions.

A trial at Liverpool Crown Court, prosecuted by Ben Jones, heard how the 73-year-old targeted one of the youngsters over a period lasting seven years. Campbell bought another victim dolls and told her to "come and see his guinea pigs" before assaulting her.

His crimes were first reported to the police in 2020. He was subsequently charged with a series of child sex offences, and was found guilty of 11 counts - including inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and exposure - by a jury.

Robert Gwilliam

The taxi driver told a 12-year-old girl he would pay her to clean his flat, but instead exploited the opportunity to sexually abuse her.

Robert Gwilliam's victim now goes to sleep hiding under her bed after he subjected her to years of assaults. The paedophile even took pictures of her naked, giving her fistfuls of cash in return.

The pensioner took pictures of her exposed breasts on his iPhone, and on one occasion told her to undress and placed pound coins on her naked body. She would "tell him no, but he carried on anyway", paying her up to £40 per visit. The schoolgirl eventually confided in her PE teacher about the "prolonged and sustained" abuse she had been subjected her to.

Gwilliam admitted six counts of sexual assault, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, two charges of attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child and taking indecent images. The 67-year-old was jailed for 12 years.

Ibrahim Sarjo

The teenager stabbed two men after they hurled "ugly and shameful" racial abuse at him and chased him through Liverpool city centre.

Anthony Sweeney shouted "if I catch you, you black b*****d, I'm going to kill you" as he and Raymond Watkins pursued Ibrahim Sarjo through Queen Square Bus Station. The then 18-year-old subsequently pulled a knife from his pocket and left the pair with wounds which kept them in hospital for more than a week.

Mr Sweeney had also told the teen "the girls like white boys better than black" before calling him a "n****r". He was left with a stab wound close to his heart and lost a significant amount of blood, remaining in hospital for seven days while Mr Watkins was discharged after 10 days of treatment for his puncture wounds.

Sarjo admitted two counts of wounding and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was jailed for 18 months.

William Lea

The paedophile sexually assaulted and exposed himself to a schoolgirl in an arcade then gave her his phone number.

William Lea told the teenager to perform a sex act upon him and was caught because he left his contact details with her. But after being released under investigation over the incident, he went on to attempt to groom an 11-year-old.

The 65-year-old had been using a gaming machine in an amusements next to the Scarisbrick Hotel in Southport when he groped a 14-year-old, then exposed himself to her and instructed her to perform a sex act on him. Lea was then ensnared in an online paeophile hunter sting.

He arranged to meet up with this 'girl' at Southport Station, but was confronted by members of the group. He was jailed for four years and 10 months.

David Morgan

A dealer was found with a machete and knife in his cupboard after police uncovered 'flare' messages on his phone.

Officers visited the home of David Morgan to arrest him over an unrelated domestic violence matter on March 21 last year when they discovered his involvement in illicit substances. The 48-year-old "struggled" during his arrest and ultimately produced a bag of "white and brown wraps".

Analysis found that this was of 247mg of crack cocaine and 800mg of heroin - totalling 1.047 grams of drugs. His mobile phone showed "flare messages" Morgan had sent out to other users that were "suggestive of street level dealing" and advertised three deals for £25. He pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to supply class A drugs and was jailed for two years 10 months.

Layton Maxwell

The former Liverpool FC player was jailed for his part in a huge EncroChat drug conspiracy.

Ex-Reds midfielder Layton Maxwell was 19 when he scored during his debut at Anfield in 1999 but has now been jailed for eight years for his part in the plot. He was one of 14 men sentenced to a total of 140 years.

The gang members, using encrypted devices, organised the distribution of multi kilograms of cocaine and heroin and the collection and transport of significant quantities of cash. More than 50kg of the class A substances and £700,000 of cash was seized as part of an investigation into the ring.

After signing for Cardiff City on a free transfer in 2001, Maxwell enjoyed an encouraging start to life at Ninian Park before being loaned to Barry Town in 2003. He dropped through the divisions and ultimately finished his career with spells at Rhyl, Bagnor City, Caernarfon Town, Aberaman Athletic and Barry Town before becoming an engineer for Vodafone.

Emma Walsh

The killer, who fatally stabbed her boyfriend in the heart after a night in the pub, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years.

Emma Walsh knifed Gary Morgan to death on the evening of April 10 this year. They had earlier visited the Belmont pub to watch Liverpool FC's 2-2 draw with Manchester City on the television before staying for karaoke night.

The couple returned to their bungalow on Lavan Close in Everton at around 10pm, where she killed the tradesman in a "drink-fuelled, explosive rage". Their year-long relationship had been marred by Walsh subjecting him to domestic abuse.

The 31-year-old was unanimously convicted of murder by a jury after only one hour and 37 minutes of deliberations.

Christopher Traynor

The army veteran, traumatised on the battlefields of Afghanistan, was roped into helping drugs barons import kilos of heroin from Amsterdam stashed inside furniture.

Christopher Traynor, who had a record of "exemplary military service" in the Royal Mercian Regiment, was caught after a Border Force officer opened a package under the name 'Frank de Boer' and found 2.5kg of the class A drug inside a pouffe. Liverpool Crown Court heard seeing his "friends maimed" in fierce battles left Traynor, of Lightbound Road, in Tranmere, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and a spiralling cocaine addiction.

The former infantryman ran up an unpayable debt to his dealers and was roped into working for a gang selling heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, ketamine and 2C-B. On February 23 this year, a Border Force UK officer was on shift at a DPD depot in Birmingham when he spotted an illicit package - containing nearly £150,000 of the former substance - posted to the UK from Amsterdam addressed to the 30-year-old.

Traynor admitted importing heroin, possession of cocaine, MDMA, ketamine and 2C-B with intent to supply and possessing criminal property. He was jailed for nine-and-a-half years.

Craig Bakker

A street dealer who smoked cannabis daily from the age of 13 was caught with a knife for the second time in just over a year.

Craig Bakker was spotted walking along Poulton Road, in Wallasey, at around 3pm on December 9 last year. Liverpool Crown Court heard the teenager came to the attention of plain clothes police officers on patrol in the area.

The then 19-year-old appeared "visibly shocked and startled" by the sudden appearance of the officers. He was searched and a lock knife with a "very sharp" five-inch blade was recovered from his pockets alongside three bags of cannabis and a graft phone.

Bakker was convicted of being concerned in the supply of cannabis and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was jailed for a total of 326 days in prison.

Kane Harrison

A thug pulled his mum out of bed by her hair before dragging her downstairs and kicking her front teeth out.

Kane Harrison pleaded guilty to assaulting his mum, Holly Jane Deacon, at her home in Walton in August this year. The court heard that Harrison arrived at the property and started drunkenly shouting up to his mum who was in bed.

The 27-year-old, of no fixed address, then went upstairs to wake her before pulling her by the hair and then dragging her downstairs. He went on to kick her forcefully in the face and also stamped on her neck.

When police arrived at the house they found blood stains on the wall and on the floor. The force of the kick to the face meant Ms Deacon lost two teeth in the attack, saying afterward "she thought she was going to die".

Harrison blamed his alcohol dependence for the assault but initially denied the allegation, alleging that his mum had fallen over or was making things up. He was jailed for 15 months.

John Murphy

Murphy and his paedophile pal were rumbled by the latter's girlfriend after she discovered a horrifying log of their sickening chats.

John Murphy shared his vile stash of material over WhatsApp with other depraved individuals, including pervert bus driver David Owens. They were exposed after the latter's long-term partner became suspicious and checked his phone, revealing to her shock that they had secretly been discussing their desire to sexually abuse children.

An analysis of Murphy's own phone revealed a number of indecent images while he had also distributed some. The 68-year-old said upon his arrest: "I only speak to people who want to get involved in that sort of thing."

Murphy admitted three counts of distributing indecent images, possession of indecent images and three charges of making indecent images. He was jailed for 25 months.

Mark Rooney

The thug burst into his ex-girlfriend's house brandishing a baseball bat while she was in the shower then threatened to crash into the shop where she worked.

Mark Rooney then went on to form a new relationship but attacked this partner too. The 35-year-old threw a can of beer at his second victim's head at a campsite and said he wanted to burn her face with a barbeque before knocking her out.

He did this by hitting her with her own phone. The railway worker also sent a naked picture of the former to a friend.

Rooney admitted two counts of harassment, threatening to disclose private sexual photographs, disclosing private sexual photographs and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was jailed for 42 weeks.

Robert Case

The "manipulative and controlling" builder used cocaine to try and lure young girls into taking part in sexual acts.

Robert Case was convicted of a slew of sexual offences and abuse that dated back seven years. The court heard how the 42-year-old, of Croxteth Hall Lane, Liverpool, would "snort" cocaine and use the substance to try and lure girls under the age of 16 into sexual acts.

On one occasion, he was driving in the car with a 10-year-old girl when he tried to "put his hand down her pants". Another time, the pervert was at his home with a teenage girl when he offered her drugs before "pursing her" and making a number of unwanted sexual advances.

Case was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison. Shouts of "get in" could be heard from the public gallery when he was placed on the sex offenders' register for life.

Kieran Parkinson

The pervert abused a child and filmed his wife having sex with their pet dog.

Kieran Parkinson groomed the boy with promises of paying him cash, then performed a sex act on himself as the youngster watched. Police also uncovered a series of depraved Facebook chats between him and his wife Mary in which they discussed raping and assaulting children.

The 36-year-old once stood rubbing his private parts in the boy's presence for several minutes. The paedophile denied this had been sexually-motivated and claimed that he had actually been itching himself.

Parkinson was found guilty of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and causing a child to watch a sexual act after a trial and admitted three counts of possession of extreme pornographic images. He was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Adel Hussain

The dangerous driver left a student for dead lying in the road "as if she was nothing" after a horrific crash.

Freya Griffiths had her jaw smashed on both sides and suffered an agonising broken right leg after speeding driver, Adel Hussain, ploughed into her on Bagot Street, Wavertree, shortly after midnight on November 25 last year. After knocking the 21-year-old victim into the air over the bonnet of his Volkswagen Golf, he accelerated away without stopping or returning.

The driver claimed he thought he had clipped a wing mirror and did not realise he had struck anyone but a judge rejected his story. Miss Griffiths, now 22, spoke of how she feared she was doing to die at the scene.

Hussain, of Prescot Road, Old Swan, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop after an accident and obstructing a police constable in the execution of his duty. The 34-year-old was jailed for two years.

Alexander Park

A "paedophile hunter sting" caught the 43-year-old man attempting to purchase a bikini for a child and arrange a trip to the swimming baths.

Alexander Park, of Old Chester Road, in Tranmere, was targeted by a decoy posing as a 13-year-old girl. The account received messages from him indicating his desires to be "washed" by the youngster and to "touch her bottom".

Park planned to meet her in Birkenhead on two separate occasions in January, the first involving a meeting at Birkenhead Park. The second would see them meet at Conway Park Station before heading to Europa Pools swimming baths.

Park admitted several sexual offences. He was jailed for two years and four months.

David Madeley

A man woke to find another man performing a sex act on him after being offered somewhere to stay after a night out.

Bar manager David Madeley admitted sexually assault. The 34-year-old had gone out for drinks and later offered the victim a place to sleep.

Sleeping fully clothed, he woke in the night to find the pervert had pulled down his trousers and underwear and was performing a sex act. A scuffle broke out between the two which saw bottles broken as the complainant tried to recover his clothes.

He fled the property and flagged down a police car. Madeley was jailed for a year.

Edward Williams

The thug shouted "you f****** little rat, watch what happens now" before running into a hardware store and brandishing an axe during a fight in a town centre.

Edward Williams was leaving a barber's shop in Prescot in February when he noticed a man walking down the street with the two men immediately squaring up to fight. Moments later, CCTV footage showed the 30-year-old running into a hardware store situated behind him and emerging holding an axe.

The video captured him swinging the weapon but not connecting with any of the blows. The court heard that the male who Williams threatened was connected to a "gang" which had "terrorised the defendant for 13 years".

He was convicted of affray and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place. A sentence of six months in prison was handed down.

Derek Wiswall

A woman allowed a paedophile to stay at her home following his release from prison only for him to beat her black and blue three days later.

Derek Wiswall formed a relationship with his victim while he was behind bars. But when the 33-year-old was freed from custody and went to reside with her, he spat at her and punched her to the floor - falsely believing that she was having an affair.

Wiswall has three previous convictions for eight offences being jailed for seven months in October 2020 for possession of indecent images. In February 2022, he received 18 weeks for failing to comply with notification requirements as part of this sentence and committed his latest crimes after being released on licence from this stretch.

The pervert admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage. He was locked up for 16 months.

Liam Power

The school teacher kicked his ex's partner in the face when on the floor leading to a loss of vision in his left eye.

Liam Power was convicted of wounding with intent when he kicked Joseph Ryan in the face when he was lying on the floor after an altercation. The court heard that the 29-year-old, of Elaine Street, in Toxteth, kicked the victim so hard his vision had been significantly damaged - leading to difficulties in his work.

He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after being convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Carl Llewellyn

A have-a-go hero delivery driver hit the robber on the head with a plank of wood after he raided a pharmacy armed with a knife.

Carl Llewellyn was also tackled by a chemist after storming the premises and demanding money and drugs. He targeted Green Cross Pharmacy in Bewsey, Warrington, at around 10.15am on July 5 this year. Llewellyn left with only a few packs of diazepam following the robbery.

The third-time offender admitted robbery and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was jailed for six years.

Carl Mello

An undercover police operation helped to bring down "Macca line" drug dealers who inflicted "misery" through the supply of cocaine and heroin.

Operation Ground targeted a number of "graft phones" linked to the supply of cocaine and heroin in Wirral. Carl Mello, of Cheapside, in Liverpool city centre, was jailed for his part in the drug operation.

The 35-year-old was previously convicted of manslaughter after accidentally shooting his best friend dead. Mello was jailed for four-and-half years.

Carl Burger

The pervert posed as a doctor in order to sexually assault a hospital patient in her 80s.

The grandma was asleep in her cubicle in the A&E department of the Royal Liverpool Hospital when Carl Burger targeted her, falsely telling her he was a medical professional who was performing an examination. The attack only stopped when he was disturbed by a nurse.

It came just over two months after he had groped another victim as she slept. The severely disabled woman was asleep on her sofa and woke to find Burger groping her left breast underneath her pyjama top

The 55-year-old admitted two counts of sexual assault. He was jailed for three years.

David Demeter

The pervert followed a woman as she walked home at night then sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl in the street.

David Demeter ran away scared when the teenager fought back after he groped her. The 31-year-old then punched and kicked her her and her friend.

He later laughed when quizzed about the incident by police. It came only weeks after he had attempted to break into a woman's flat by prising the bedroom window open with a piece of wood.

Demeter admitted attempted burglary and was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault, three charges of assault and a public order offence. He was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Michael Lucas

The thug attacked a member of rail staff after trying to travel without paying for a train ticket.

Michael Lucas, of Bath Street in Southport, attempted to avoid buying a ticket twice then tried to force his way through the barriers at Wigan Wallgate Station without paying for his fare. After being challenged by workers, the 32-year-old left but returned later in the evening - this time successfully making his way through.

He then grabbed an employee by the throat and punched the 52-year-old in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. The victim suffered fractures to his eye socket, cheekbone and jaw as a result.

Lucas dropped his mobile phone and driving licence as he fled, leading to him being identified. He admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent and was jailed for 28 months.

William Roberts

The sex offender cried and told his victim he "couldn't help it" after attacking her.

William Roberts repeatedly sexually assaulted the youngster over a period of around six months and told her on one occasion "I can't help it". The 42-year-old's crimes were discovered after he was taken to hospital due to concerns about his mental health and alcohol consumption.

There, he admitted his crimes to his sister and told her "I don't know what's real" - believing that his victim was plotting to kill him. Roberts also confessed that he had "heard voices in his head telling him to touch" the girl.

When police contacted the complainant, she confirmed that he had regularly touched her on the bottom and chest over her clothing. Roberts admitted two counts of sexual assault and was jailed for three years.

Simon Tomkins

The paedophile collected more than 10,000 indecent images over a period of more than a decade.

Simon Tomkins spent a period of around 12 years downloading a vile stash of pictures and videos of children aged as young as eight. One showed a youngster being forced to perform a sex act on a man while another featured a boy and a girl of the same age engaged in sexual activity.

But more than 100,000 other files were "uncategorised", and it is not known if they were illegal, as they were not looked at. The 39-year-old blamed his perverted behaviour on the breakdown of a long-term relationship.

Tomkins admitted possession of indecent images, three counts of making indecent images, possession of prohibited images and possession of cannabis. He was jailed for two years.

Wayne Daniels

Brave shop workers fought off the knife-wielding customer with wooden poles after a row over change escalated.

A masked Wayne Daniels returned to armed with the weapon having been turfed out following an earlier argument. The "extremely drunk" 42-year-old re-entered in a change of clothing and with his face covered and carrying a knife, "holding it in a manner as if to stab".

The shopkeeper and an employee picked up wooden poles and used them to try to push him out of the store as he continued "gesticulating" with the blade while making threats. While Daniels "made good his escape", his face covering was found abandoned at the scene with his DNA on it - leading to his arrest.

He admitted making threats with a bladed article, threatening to destroy property and breaching a suspended sentence and was jailed for two years. Sentencing, Recorder Graham Wells told him he had brandished the weapon "not for a few moments but in a concerted and threatening way".

Miya James

The carer lied about visiting the home of a "vulnerable" woman in her final days, leaving her to die from covid in conditions described as "an utter disgrace".

Miya James, 25, was due to attend the home of a 71-year-old woman on January 24 and 25 last year. The woman was suffering from Covid-19, had recently been discharged from Whiston Hospital and suffered from mobility problems which meant she could not come downstairs.

But James failed to attend three of the four visits she was scheduled to undertake across those two days, falsely logging her attendance on the company's system in an attempt to get paid. The pensioner died on January 25 2021.

The defendant, of Fell Grove in St Helens, pleaded guilty to wilful neglect. She was jailed for eight months.

Victory Ozoemena

The university student led officers on a 90mph car chase then said he was "scared because of the man that got shot and killed by police".

Victory Ozoemena was already banned from driving after a previous 140mph pursuit, which ended when he smashed into a lamppost. The care worker then got behind the wheel again, but was caught after crashing into a hedge.

The 24-year-old admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and breaching a suspended sentence order. He was jailed for a year.

Rachid Karkach

The assistant manager of a Liverpool city centre restaurant was caught with a £60,000 cannabis farm.

Police found the large crop of drugs growing in the loft of Rachid Karkach's home in Speke during a raid earlier this year. The 31-year-old developed a habit after taking up smoking weed at the age of 12.

A total of 52 cannabis plants been growing in his loft. The "professional" setup was capable of producing an estimated potential yield of drugs worth between £14,560 and £65,520.

Karkach admitted production of cannabis and abstracting electricity without authority. He was jailed for 18 months.

Aurel Pjetri

Police stumbled upon a £100,000 cannabis farm after being called to a water leak.

Aurel Pjetri was caught red-handed tending to the "professional setup" when it was inadvertently discovered by officers. The 25-year-old travelled to the UK from his native Albanian in a dinghy hoping to find employment in the construction industry.

Instead, he was put to work as the "gardener" of a grow at a house on Hothfield Road in Wallasey, Wirral. Two upstairs bedrooms of the address were converted into drugs factories - with a third in the process of being set up in the kitchen.

The 90 cannabis plants seized had a potential yield of between 2.5kg and 7.5kg, a stash which could have generated sums of between £50,000 and "well over" £100,000. Pjetri admitted production of cannabis and was jailed for a year.

Mikael Janesson

The paedophile was rumbled after he and his girlfriend met a man in a bar and invited him back to their flat for a threesome.

Mikael Janesson made a series of troubling comrments to the male following their drug-fuelled romp. The 41-year-old stated he "believed you should be able to have sex with anyone who you wanted, regardless of age" then pulled out his phone and showed him a series of indecent images showing girls having sex with adult males.

The concerned participant called the police as a result, with officers then discovering his vile stash. The pervert then penned a disturbing seven-page letter to the court in which he described himself as a "martyr for paedophilia" and compared himself to Alan Turing.

Janesson admitted possession of indecent images, three counts of making indecent images, possession of extreme pornographic images, possession of prohibited images of children and supplying mephedrone. He was jailed for 20 months.

Mark Wheeler

The murderer battered his wife to death with a lamp after racking up huge debts.

Mark Wheeler kept his money troubles secret from his partner Karen, then brutally killed her and attempted to take his own life at their flat in Birkenhead when threatened with bailiffs. The "much-loved mother" was also repeatedly stabbed during a prolonged assault, which began as she slept on a sofa and saw her subjected to dozens of blows at his hands.

The 62-year-old victim returned home from a night shift - having been employed as a carer for assisted living residents by a housing association - on the morning of May 11 and dozed off on a settee in the living room before her spouse began his attack. Her son discovered her lifeless body the following day.

Wheeler, 52, admitted murder. He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years and 10 months.

Connor Tomney

The thug wore swimming goggles as he chased a man through the streets with a knife before slashing him in the face with the weapon.

Connor Tomney donned the eyewear in a "bizarre" attempt to conceal his identity as he attacked his victim following a "petty" argument involving his girlfriend and her mum's neighbours. He got out of a car and barged past his victim's pregnant partner, saying "move out of the way you little s**g" and chasing him around parked cars.

The complainant fell to the floor, and his assailant swung a knife at him - hitting him on the left check and causing a "superficial" cut. The 29-year-old asked "have I done it?" before continuing to swipe at him with the knife before getting back in the car and being driven off.

Tomney admitted assault and making threats with a bladed article. He was jailed for 18 months.

Ryan Sumner

The thug attacked a couple as they were taking their kids to the park and left a dad fighting for his life.

Ryan Sumner's assault caused their baby's pram to roll into a road and saw the man suffer a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain. He was left homeless after his relationship broke down as a result of the incident.

The 22-year-old admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent during an earlier hearing. Sumner was jailed for two years.

Huseyin Erdogan

The kebab shop owner tried to slash his wife's face with a skewer before locking her in a cellar.

Huseyin Erdogan also made sinister threats to arrange for a hitman to murder his partner after she accused him of having an affair. The businessman started trying to slash at his victim's face with a skewer, pushing her down into the basement while continuing to "lash out" with the implement.

He trapped her in the cellar and threatened to "cut her with a knife" if she called the police. The 54-year-old later told her: "You're going to make me a murderer."

Erdogan admitted assault and making threats to kill. He was jailed for 23 months

Paul Roberts

The paedophile groomed a boy with gifts then bragged about his sick exploits on the dark web.

Paul Roberts was already a convicted sex offender when he assaulted the youngster, having bought him a bicycle and clothing. A probe by the National Crime Agency revealed that the 38-year-old had used the dark web to communicate with other depraved individuals online.

The pervert discussed with others the abuse he had subjected a 12-year-old boy to - which saw him sit next to him on the sofa and put his arm around him, then slap him on the bottom when he stood up. Roberts also kissed him on the lips, watched him have a water fight with another child and offered to buy him condoms.

He also admitted viewing indecent images of children "most nights." The defendant admitted two counts of sexual assault, attempting sexual communications with a child and two charges of making indecent images and was jailed for 40 months.

Connor Smith

The final member of a multi-million pound drug gang has been locked up.

Connor Smith was one of 10 men ensnared after a National Crime Agency investigation into a Merseyside-based gang which operated an amphetamine lab in North Wales. Conspirators have now been jailed for a combined total of nearly 200 years.

The 29-year-old was involved in the supply of class B drugs only - including up to £2.5million of cannabis. His communications on EncroChat, undertaken using the handle Tactical Hawk, evidenced a total of 499kg supplied or offered between April and June 2020 - drugs with an estimated street value of between £2,242,425 and £2,513,009.

He was also involved in trafficking around 20kg of ketamine. Smith admitted conspiracy to supply ketamine, mephedrone, diazepam and cannabis and production of cannabis and was jailed for seven years and 11 months.

Liam McHale

The heroin and cocaine dealer trafficked millions of pounds of drugs under the pseudonym "Lawless Fly".

Liam McHale funded a lavish lifestyle by netting huge sums of money through the trade of illicit substances. EncroChat notes and messages revealed that he had been involved in supply of 84kg of cocaine, 13kg of heroin and 26kg of cannabis as well as the transfer of around £5.5million in cash.

This allowed him to buy a house in Mossley Hill for £270,000, where police discovered "high value" watches, jewellery, clothing and shoes when they raided the address - with a crypto mining rig having been set up in the garage. His texts also bragged of buying a Rolex for £24,000 and bragged, "joining an expensive golf club in Formby" and shopping at a Louis Vuitton store.

McHale - who has no previous convictions - had been working for a plastics firm but was furloughed during the Covid-19 pandemic, then moved to a £40k job as a telecoms engineer. The dad admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis and money laundering and was jailed for 11 years.

John Maloney

He was part of a gang who forced their way into an elderly widow's home and sprayed her in the face with an aerosol can before snatching her wedding ring from her.

The "team of four close knit individuals" - John Toohey, Paddy Doran, Philip Purcell and John Maloney - posed as workmen when targeting the first victim at her address on Burbo Bank Road in Blundellsands on June 4 this year. They told the 76-year-old that there was an "emergency" and that they needed to shut off the gas and water supply to the property due to roadworks before striking - also yanking a necklace from her person.

The four masked robbers then made their way to another house, where they threatened to kidnap the female occupant's children. When caught after leading police on a 90mph chase in the wrong direction down one of the city's busiest roads, Doran and Maloney told officers that they were innocently out on a walk from their home - which was located 11 miles away.

All four defendants admitted two counts of robbery and aggravated vehicle taking. Maloney was jailed for 15-and-a-half years, Doran was locked up for 14 years and eight months and both Toohey and Purcell were handed 13 years and 10 months.

Liam Duffy

The killer member of the Croxteth Crew led police on a car chase at more than 120mph within weeks of being released from prison.

Liam Duffy smashed into another vehicle and brought a lamppost crashing down as the 15-minute chase came to an end. He had only recently been freed from jail, having previously been handed a 20-year stretch for manslaughter over the fatal shooting of teenager Liam Smith, of the rival Norris Green-based Strand gang.

The 19-year-old was shot in the head and killed outside HMP Altcourse in 2006. The revenge hit came after an altercation in the Fazakerley jail's visiting hall.

Duffy then masterminding a multi-million pound drugs racket from behind bars. The now 41-year-old admitted dangerous driving and was jailed for 10 months, but is not due for release until December 2026 after being recalled on licence

Peter Croft

Croft went on a crime spree on which saw him carry out a number of offences, including battering a 72-year-old man and entering a woman's bedroom armed with a knife.

He demanded money before repeatedly punching the pensioner, knocking him to the floor. The 31-year-old then attempted to break into a number of homes in the Crosby area equipped with the weapon.

When the victim of a house he successfully entered asked Croft why he was there he replied it was because of "neighbours and then aliens". He admitted offences including burglary and robbery and was jailed for three years and seven months.

Kevin Jones

The paedophile attempted to groom a '13-year-old girl' by sending her pictures of his false leg.

Kevin Jones befriended two supposed teenagers on Facebook before engaging them in a series of lewd chats on WhatsApp. But, unbeknown to him, he was actually being ensnared in a paedophile hunters' sting.

The 56-year-old asked one decoy account to supply him with pictures of herself and sent images of his face and prosthetic leg. The three-time convicted paedophile asked "if she liked older men" and if she had "had sex education in school" while "constantly referring to her as a nice girl".

Jones told her he had been masturbating, talked about pornography and instructed her how to access it - asking her to describe what she had seen once she had done so. He admitted two counts of attempting sexual communications with a child, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and two charges of breaching a sexual harm prevention order and was imprisoned for four years.

Robert Massey

The murderer strangled his girlfriend to death and stabbed her dead body before scrawling abuse over her skin with a felt tip pen.

Robert Massey also dressed his deceased partner in designer gear before leaving her lying dead in her flat as he plotted to kill two men with whom he believed she had been unfaithful. The 43-year-old knifed one of them with the same weapon he had used to kill Jacqueline Forest after luring him to the apartment before taking a taxi to his former friend's workplace and attacking him with a pair of scissors.

He had walked free from court two weeks earlier for assaulting the same victim, pouring vodka over her and threatening to set it on fire. Then, after scrolling through her phone and finding suspicious texts, Massey flew into rage - battering and throttling her until she was dead, then knifing her in the womb after finding a pregnancy test.

The killer remained at large for another 24 hours - during which time he went drinking using her debit card, lured one of the men to Ms Forest's apartment and tried to cut his ears off then travelled to the other's workplace and chased him down the street with the scissors. Massey admitted murder and two counts of attempted murder and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years.

Paul Daw

A school teacher groomed and indecently assaulted an underage teenage girl who was one of his pupils.

The historic offences took place in St Helens in the 1990s and only came to light when the victim went to police many years later. The now 55-year-old paedophile groomed the student by lending her books and CDs and giving her compliments before assaulting her.

He previously appeared in court in December 2013 after pleading guilty to filming indecent images of young girls getting changed at the Wirral school where he was now teaching and of teenagers shopping in Liverpool, for which he received a suspended sentence. Daw admitted four counts of indecent assault for his latest crimes and was jailed for 28 months.

Keisha Harty

She left her homeless victim with a permanent scar after stabbing her with a broken wine glass before fleeing to Ireland.

Keisha Harty angrily flipped over a table before launching herself at the complainant during a boozy New Year's Eve party. She then went on the run for nearly a year before finally being brought to justice when she was caught shoplifting.

The 26-year-old admitted wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm. Harty was jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Terence Page

The drug dealer "thought he was invincible" and was trying to source wholesale amounts of cocaine only days after the birth of his daughter.

Terence Page traded in huge quantities of class A and B substances on EncroChat, using the handles CuppaTea and WorldPossum. The 40-year-old used two different devices on the encrypted communications service and was involved in the supply of at least 14kg of heroin, 1.75kg of cocaine and 2kg of amphetamine.

The broker and middle man was part of an "intricate network which coordinated, sourced and supplied substantial quantities of class A drugs". He was identified as being the man behind the mask of CuppaTea and WorldPossum after providing personal details within his secret communications, including the names and ages of relatives, as well as referencing his home address.

Page was previously handed eight years and nine months in 2011 over another major drugs operation. He admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and amphetamine in relation to his latest crimes and was jailed for 16 years.

David McMullan

The paedophile travelled from Northern Ireland to Merseyside and raped a girl in hotels and fields after grooming her on Snapchat.

David McMullan sent his teenage victim a string of gifts before flying over to sexually abuse her four times over the course of around 18 months. On one occasion, the 32-year-old plied her with drugs which knocked her out - before she awoke to find him having sex with her.

This came after he sent a parcel to her home on Valentine's Day containing a card with a picture of her face on it and a photograph of a man he purported was himself - as well as a teddy bear, a hoodie, £30 in cash, lubricant and a bubble wand. McMullan admitted four counts of rape and was jailed for 19 years.

Claire Dooley

The carer-turned-drugs courier was caught with more than 6kg of heroin in the boot of her car.

Claire Dooley became involved in transporting illicit class A substances and dirty cash on behalf of a gang in order to pay off her ex's cannabis debt. Police spotted the 43-year-old's black Audi Q3 stop outside a house on Petherick Road in Croxteth and co-defendant Patrick Campbell walk out of the address with a white carrier bag which he placed it in the trunk - taking out a green carrier bag.

Dooley, of Brunswick Street in Garston, drove off onto the M57 before being stopped on the Knowsley Expressway, where the bag was found to contain a number of brown parcels - later revealed to be 6.69kg of heroin of around 40% purity - which a search of her home revealed £3,000 in cash and a small quantity of cannabis for personal use. Officers returned to the property on Petherick Road and discovered that the green bag contained £12,000, while another 3.12kg of heroin had been stashed in a black bag in a wardrobe.

Dooley stated under interview that she believed she had been transporting cannabis and not heroin. She was jailed for four-and-a-half years after admitting possession of heroin with intent to supply and possession of cannabis while 29-year-old Campbell received seven years and eight months having pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to supply and possession of criminal property.

Simon Tunstall

The pervert used a hidden camera to spy on a teenage girl and stream live video of her to his mobile phone.

Simon Tunstall set up the camera, which sent moving images of the youngster to his mobile phone for approximately four weeks in May 2019. After being arrested, the 45-year-old's phone was found to contain images of the victim in various states of undress.

A statement read out on her behalf described how she has been left "traumatised" by his crimes. She added: "I don't think I'll ever recover from the problems that Simon's actions have caused me."

Tunstall, of Fleet Lane in St Helens, admitted voyeurism and taking indecent images. He was jailed for a year.

Gerrard Myler

The drug deal broker and gang debt collector was paid a wage of up to £5,000 a month and splashed out on a Rolex watch on his birthday.

Gerrard Myler was identified as being the EncroChat user behind the handle DiorFox after sending pictures of his wife and children to co-conspirators. Messages on the encrypted communications platform evidenced the 32-year-old's involvement in the supply of at least 4kg of cocaine and 3kg of cannabis.

The engineer admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine and cannabis. He was jailed for eight years and three months this afternoon.

Paul Cooke

The dad tried to steal £4million with a bizarre fraud involving forged court documents after becoming "obsessed and fixated" with the loss of his house in a repossession.

Paul Cooke sobbed in the dock as the court heard he even roped his then 17-year-old son into his "twisted and elaborate" fraud attempts against three different companies, whom he believed had wronged him in various ways. The 58-year-old's son, Tom Cooke, helped his dad file "ludicrous" claims to the county courts but was not convicted of involvement in the final, most audacious attempt against Birmingham Midshires Financial Services Ltd.

This saw the father issue a "staggering" £4,792,745 claim for compensation against the firm in relation to his family home in Huyton Quarry being repossessed. Cooke changed the company's address on forms submitted to one in London, meaning it was unaware of the litigation.

He said "I am sorry for everything" as he was jailed for 30 months after admitting seven charges of fraud. His son was handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months for five counts.

Reece Corran

The drug dealer could have walked free from court but was jailed after telling a judge he would refuse to do community service.

"Low level" cannabis supplier Reece Corran was caught in possession of quantities of the class B substance by police on two separate occasions. In court, the 20-year-old's counsel discussed what a suspended sentence would entail, including unpaid work and sessions with probation services.

However, he shook his head in the dock. Judge Gary Woodhall noticed this and stated that Corran had "indicated to the court that it's not going to be workable" and instead locked him up for 10 months.

Angela Burns

An 86-year-old man was left a "shell of himself" after she violently forced her way into his sheltered accommodation home.

The pensioner spent two weeks in hospital after falling and banging his head when Angela Burns shoved him to the floor. The grandma then rifled through his coat and stole a measly £6.

The OAP answered a knock at the door of his flat in Birkenhead and found the defendant on the other side "appearing ready for a fight". Burns then "pushed him really hard" and barged past him, causing him to stumble backwards and hit his head on the wall.

The 53-year-old then "rummaged through" his jacket, which was hanging up in the hallway, and took the cash before leaving. She admitted robbery and was jailed for six years.

Joseph Ellis

The taxi driver delivered food to the vulnerable during lockdown but used his job as cover to transport huge quantities of drugs.

Police seized nearly £20,000 of designer goods from Joseph Ellis' home after he was identified as being the EncroChat user behind the handle StrawSmith. This secret life of heroin and cocaine sat in contrast with the man who cooked meals for elderly residents, food that he delivered to their doors.

The 38-year-old "operated as a trusted courier for an organised crime group", taking his orders over the encrypted communications platform. Messages revealed that he had transported at least 15kg of cocaine, 3kg of heroin and 2kg of cannabis.

Ellis, who is also known as Joseph McNabb, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis. He was jailed for nine years.

Gareth Parr

The drunken teenager repeatedly stabbed a stranger with a kitchen knife after a row broke out at a beach party.

Gareth Parr, 19, and his uncle Frankie Parr, 33, attacked the man at the Vine Tavern pub on Elephant Lane in St Helens. Both men were drunk at a beach-themed party held on the evening of August 6 this year where a number of families were present.

The former left the pub after being warned about his behaviour and returned a short time later armed with a kitchen knife concealed in his clothing. Frankie Parr then began having a heated argument with a fellow pubgoer and repeatedly punched him before the teen stabbed him in the back, knifing him again as he lay motionless on the floor.

He admitted wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in a public place and was jailed for five-and-a-half years. His uncle was sentenced to three years, having also thrown an axe through the window of a sweet shop.

Adam Sullivan

He was ensnared after his DNA was found on a gun hidden down the side of a garden shed.

The 7.62 calibre Tokarev model TT33 type self-loading pistol was discovered inside plastic bags by the home on Altmoor Road in Huyton in September 2021. Traces of the 26-year-old's DNA was then located on the internal spring and guide rod.

Police then raided an address on the same street in February this year and recovered a quantity of cannabis. Sullivan was later found guilty of possession of a firearm without a certificate and possession of a class B drug and was jailed for six years.

Stephen Stokes

The wedding guest was one of several men jailed after the celebration ended in chaos after a mass brawl broke out.

Participants caused £15,000 of damage to the Daresbury Park Hotel after violence erupted in the function room bar. Tables, chairs and glasses flew as attendees fought, arming themselves with makeshift weapons such as coat stands and fire extinguishers.

Five officers were led towards the hotel's Alice bar at about 11.35pm but retreated downstairs to the reception area to request back-up due to glasses being thrown in their direction. Men were taken into custody "covered in blood" and with injuries to their faces and bodies.

Stephen Stokes, pictured above, was sentenced to 20 months after admitting affray.

Renee Weaver

The drug addict jumped into a pensioner's car as he was leaving to collect his grandchildren from school and subjected him to vicious beating on his own driveway.

Renee Weaver, 41, punched the victim repeatedly before scrabbling around in his pockets, swiping cash and his phone and threatening to smash his head in with a glass bottle. Astonishingly, it was the pensioner who was arrested after Weaver, of Vulcan Street in the city centre, lied to officers claiming she was a sex worker and he had assaulted her after refusing to pay up for a sex act.

Merseyside Police handcuffed the stunned grandad only to realise he was in fact the victim. Liverpool Crown Court heard the pensioner felt "let down by the people who are supposed to protect us" after the incident on January 29 last year, off Sheil Road in Kensington.

Weaver admitted theft and assault. She was jailed for 10 months.

Mark Buchanan

The delivery driver modified his van to smuggle huge amounts of drugs.

Mark Buchanan, from Everton, was part of an organised crime group and was caught by police couriering drugs to Wales. The 42-year-old was wearing a delivery company uniform and driving a specially-adapted vehicle in order to hide the stash.

He was caught by officers on one of the UK's busiest motorways with 7kg of cocaine, worth approximately £700,000, located in a front passenger seat bulkhead. Buchanan was jailed for 16 years.

Michael Coney

Michael Coney had 20 wraps of heroin and 32 wraps of crack cocaine on him when he was stopped by police in January.

The 58-year-old has 27 previous convictions for 65 offences, including two for dealing class A drugs dating back to 1998 and 2004. He was found guilty of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and was jailed for five-and-a-half years.

Michael Cain

He kicked a boy's crutch from underneath him before racially abusing O2 staff and throwing a drink over them.

Michael Cain, of no fixed abode, started his attacks on Wednesday, April 20, at 10am when he came face to face with 16-year-old Elliott Heap, who was on the way to a GCSE revision class at Liverpool Life Sciences. The 31-year-old approached the teenager and kicked one of his crutches, directed insulting comments towards him about his disability, and threatened violence.

In a separate incident, at around 4.30pm on Tuesday 24 May, Cain directed racial slurs towards a member of staff at the O2 shop on Church Street in Liverpool City Centre. It was further reported that he attempted to attack members of staff and threw a drink at them before being escorted out by security.

He was jailed for 28 weeks after admitting assault, harassment and criminal damage.

Darren Blease-Maguire

The machete-wielding thug slashed a man in front of terrified drivers.

The street fight broke out between Darren Blease-Maguire and a man he accused of threatening to burn down his flat at about on Saturday, October 22. One witness watched the fight from her car while stuck in traffic on Frederick Street, with the retiree seeing two men "fighting with each other and swinging their arms at each other".

She heard the victim on the ground "screaming", which she described as "harrowing". Meanwhile, Blease-Maguire was seen laughing.

The 26-year-old admitted affray, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was jailed for 20 months.

Gerrard Parkins

The drug dealer has been jailed after supplying a county line with crack cocaine and heroin.

Gerrard Edward Parkins, of Dovecot, was found guilty of being concerned in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin after a joint investigation by Merseyside Police and North Wales Police forces into the "Irish Mikey Line". The line supplied crack cocaine and heroin between Liverpool and areas of Colwyn Bay and Rhyl.

Parkins was found to be the man controlling the county line during the investigation and, when arrested, was found in possession of the county line phone. The 25-year-old was jailed for five years and seven months.

Stephen Earle

The "dangerous bully" battered a disabled man with a beer bottle in a vicious robbery after spotting him using a Zimmer frame in a hotel.

Stephen Earle, 36, followed vulnerable Peter Keppie into his room at the Scarisbrick Hotel on Lord Street, Southport, at around 10am on August 15 last year. He then rifled through his belongings looking for his medication and took his bank card from his wallet before hitting him on the head with a Desperados bottle.

Earle then snatched the victim's new iPhone, a present he had received on his birthday five days earlier. Tragically, Mr Keppie died three months later and spent his final weeks in pain.

The thug admitted robbery and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was jailed for 12 years and eight months.

Kevin Bartley

The thug dragged a homeless man along the street as he clung to his car before hitting him with his vehicle less than two weeks later.

Kevin Bartley thankfully only left his victim with grazes and bruising after the first incident. But the 37-year-old then hunted him down and threatened to kill him only days later.

He admitted two counts of dangerous driving and was jailed for 14 months.

Roy Brown

A little girl had her "innocence taken away" after being sexually assaulted on her birthday.

Roy Brown's actions had a "life-changing" impact for the youngster after she was preyed upon during "what should have been a time of celebration". The pensioner has now been convicted of sexual offences for a third time.

The 77-year-old touched the schoolgirl to the breast area over her clothing on her birthday in what was described as a "sustained incident". A statement read out to the court on behalf of the victim's mum described how the attack left a "horrendous effect" on them, while she "feels the defendant has taken a piece of her innocence away and forced her to grow up before her time".

Brown was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault. He was jailed for four years.

Hameed Naderi

The takeaway delivery man posed as a taxi driver abducted and raped a teenager while she was on a night out in Liverpool city centre.

"Remorseless predator" Hameed Naderi snatched the "very vulnerable" student off the streets in the early hours, coaxing her into his car before attacking her in a public place and his own home. But he remains unmoved over his "wicked" actions.

The 19-year-old victim took a taxi into town shortly after 12.15am and recalled being in a bar on Concert Square, but her next memory was being in the stranger's bedroom with him on top of her and having sex with her. The 30-year-old defendant had also taken her to Riverside Drive in Otterspool, where he also raped her.

Naderi admitted two counts of rape. He was jailed for nine-and-a-half years.

Connor Lunt

A man with a pair of tights on his head tried to rob a pie shop.

Connor Lunt brandished a knife at bakery staff and demanded that they hand over cash from the till. But he left empty-handed and was rapped after police discovered his fingerprints on the counter.

Lunt admitted robbery. He was jailed for 30 months.

Neil Rycroft

A schoolgirl was sexually abused by a window cleaner while out rollerskating in the street.

Neil Rycroft subjected the teenager to the attack in a public toilet block after a "chance encounter". She was left feel "numb and disgusted" as a result of the actions of the "predator".

The 48-year-old admitted sexual activity with a child. He was jailed for five years and one month.

Andrew Manning

A Tesco security guard was left with egg dripping down her face after a row over a bag of crisps.

Police were called to the Tesco Express store after Andrew Manning, who had earlier been ejected from the premises after staff refused to exchange the snack for another flavour, returned armed with a carton of eggs which he began hurling at the worker. The angry customer then went on to attack his neighbour with a door handle and a bike pump, an assault so brutal it has left him considering moving away from his home of two decades.

The 43-year-old admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of assault and breaching a suspended sentence order. He was jailed for 26 months.

Babo Habiballa

A fraudster sought out his victims on Facebook Marketplace then purchased high value goods from them using fake money.

Babo Habiballa was whisked away by a getaway driver after purchasing the iPhones and PlayStation 5 with forged £50 notes. He then crashed into a tree following a high speed chase with police.

The "sophisticated" conman admitted three counts of fraud, dangerous driving, failing to provide a sample to police, obstructing police, driving without a licence and driving without insurance. The 20-year-old was jailed for 10 months.

Paul McFadden

A "despicable" carer stole more than £100,000 from an old woman and continued withdrawing money from her bank account after she died.

Elizabeth Cain was left with less than £100 to her name at the time of her death after Paul McFadden, who had been employed as her support worker, made hundreds of fraudulent transactions from her savings into his own account. The wedding rings of the pensioner and her late husband also remain missing.

The 39-year-old conman admitted fraud. He was jailed for four-and-a-half years.

Phillip Jones

A burglar was caught out after leaving a trail of blood in a Chinese buffet restaurant he broke into.

Phillip Jones was then locked in a convenience store by a brave shop worker after he raided the premises at knifepoint. To round off his crime spree, he burgled a Lidl supermarket to pilfer booze on three separate occasions.

The 40-year-old admitted four counts of burglary, one of robbery and a charge of possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was jailed for 52 months.

Carl Roughley

The dad started dealing drugs after getting into money troubles.

Carl Roughley, 36, had seven wraps of cocaine and £555 cash in his vehicle when he was caught by police carrying out a deal in Southport on January 19. A search of his Brook Close home found a further 177 wraps weighing 103.4g, and £4,755 in cash.

He had lived a "thoroughly decent, law-abiding life" until becoming involved in dealing due to financial "desperation". The dad-of-two pleaded guilty to possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and was jailed for 28 months.

Thomas Parker

The thug violently punched and strangled his own sister before breaking her arm in two places in a drunken rampage.

Thomas Parker, from Warrington, viciously assaulted his sister in front of her horrified teenage son after getting drunk while watching football. She suffered serious injuries and had to undergo an operation to reset her arm, which was permanently damaged.

The 34-year-old defendant admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm and intentional strangulation. He was jailed for 33 months.

Steven Larkin

The thief stole a fairy statue from the Shakespeare North Playhouse believing it would bring him "comfort and good luck".

Steven Larkin and Catherine Taylor stole the pewter statue, which was valued at £2,275 on August 26. A witness saw 45-year-old Larkin climb onto the roof to steal it while Taylor kept watch, before placing it into her bag and carrying it away.

The pair were later identified on CCTV and arrested. Magistrates heard that Larkin - who was jailed for 24 weeks for theft - is still grieving for his son, who was murdered in September aged 22.

Kevin Boyle

The dad set up a fake computer company as a front for a cocaine importation ring, but will be "back with his family for Christmas".

Kevin Boyle even had jackets produced with the supposed business' logo emblazoned on them on behalf of the Gallagher brothers, who headed up the conspiracy. However, he maintains that he did not realise he was involved in the supply of class A drugs and instead believed he was part of a scheme to avoid paying duty on cigarettes and alcohol brought into the country.

The 41-year-old "acted as a frontman" for the organised crime group's shell company. Boyle was responsible for creating the alias Maurice Clarke and registering Clarke Computers and Software Ltd with Companies House using a fake passport.

The father attended viewings for warehouses in a company branded fleece "to add an air of legitimacy", with a unit on Trafalgar Court in Widnes ultimately leased as a storage facility. He admitted participating in the activities of an organised crime group and was handed a jail term of 30 months, but is likely to be released in the near future having served 14-and-a-half months on remand.

Martin Gill

The child rapist fled to Turkey and Russia but has now been brought to justice after six months on the run.

Martin Gill, from St Helens, absconded three days before he was due to stand trial accused of historic sex offences at Liverpool Crown Court. The 36-year-old was convicted in his absence and subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison.

He was detained at Manchester Airport on Thursday on Thursday, December 1, upon his arrival back in the country. The court heard he had flown to Istanbul then travelled onwards to Russia "to inform his fairly new wife of the trial and convictions he was facing".

Gill, of Waring Aveune, pleaded guilty to a charge of breaching court bail this morning and was handed an additional six months behind bars. He committed his campaign of sexual abuse in the early noughties when he himself was a youth.

Anthony Smith

The thug imprisoned a man before torturing and stabbing him over an unpaid drug debt.

Anthony Smith, from Croxteth, bound the man's hands and feet before beating, stabbing and threatening him at a home in Swansea. The 41-year-old, of Sovereign Road, told his victim he was going to be buried in a makeshift grave in the garden, and his girlfriend was going to be tied up and dragged behind a car as it drove along the motorway.

He pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, unlawful wounding, blackmail, robbery, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and being concerned in the supply of cocaine. Smith was jailed for eight years.

Claire Brennan

The cruel crimes of a pair of despicable robbers were discovered when their vulnerable victim tried to jump off a motorway bridge.

Claire Brennan and Brian Elliott drove the man to the brink of suicide after leaving him with no money to feed himself or pay bills. But, after being talked down by police, he opened up about how they had routinely been marching him to a cash machine once every two weeks and forcing him to hand over his benefit money on the day it was paid.

This included the latter threatening to stab him in the face. Both defendants were found guilty of robbery, theft and witness intimidation after a trial.

Elliott, 42, was imprisoned for seven years. Brennan, 41, handed a sentence of three-and-a-half years behind bars.

Shankar Singh

The hospital patient groped a nurse, laughed and played a Bob Marley song on his mobile phone.

Shankar Singh sexually assaulted the Royal Liverpool Hospital worker as she was tending to him after he had been admitted as an inpatient. Despite the dad's vile actions, which left her "worried and frightened", she courageously continued to provide her attacker with treatment in the interests of his health and wellbeing.

The 35-year-old was in hospital last year due to cellulitis when the member of staff was leaning over him in order to fit a canula. As she did so, Singh grabbed her by the breasts, laughed and played No Woman, No Cry by Bob Marley and the Wailers on his phone before saying "this could have been us".

He was found guilty of sexual assault after a trial. Judge Anil Murray jailed him for eight months.

Peter Willans

A man stole more than £100,000 of used tyres and bin bags then tried to hide from police in a motorway service station toilet.

Peter Willans pinched the goods during brazen heists targeting shipping containers, including one taken from the Port of Liverpool. The dad-of-two claims that he was put to work by drug dealers to whom he owed large debts.

Police feared that the stolen lorry could be used in a potential terrorist attack after it smashed through a security barrier. And the 35-year-old was oddly linked to the crimes because of his tattoo.

Willans admitted two counts of theft. He was jailed for 28 months.

Damola Olateju

A dad filmed himself trying to rape a woman as she pleaded "no" and "get off me".

Damola Olateju may have got away with the shocking attack had detectives not extracted the damning video from his mobile phone. The 37-year-old was found guilty of attempted rape and jailed for five years.

Jason McGuire

A man who killed a dog walker was driving almost double the speed limit.

Alan Williams, 74, and his pet dog Sam both suffered "multiple and catastrophic injuries" when they were hit by 33-year-old Jason McGuire's BMW. The crash occurred at 5.45pm on on November 23 2020 on Childwall Valley Road

The driver was travelling at 58mph at the point of collision, despite the 30mph speed limit. Mr Williams' son then received an alert via his Apple watch telling him his father had a "hard fall" and rushed to the scene, discovering what had happened.

McGuire pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving. He was sentenced to five years and six months in prison

Jordan Short

A drug dealer took part in an horrific gang attack to steal a Rolex watch from a dad .

Jordan Short, of Rushey Hey Road, Kirkby, was 19 when he took part in the killing of joiner Steven McMyler, a 34-year-old father of two young children, in the grounds of Wigan Parish Church on August 6, 2020. Now 21, Short was jailed for 13 years for his part in the crime.

Moments after he was sentenced, a member of the McMyler family left the public gallery from which there was no view of the dock to go into the courtroom to shout 'f***ing rat' at Short. He was ordered to leave the court.

Robert Youds

A pervert claimed his friends had sent a string of lewd messages to a girl from his Facebook account in a "practical joke" after being caught in a paedophile hunter sting.

Robert Youds told the supposed 13-year-old she was "stunning" and asked to have a bath with her during the sickening chats. But, unbeknown to him, he was actually messaging a decoy account set up as part of an online ruse - and was ultimately dobbed in by his own mum.

Youds admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child. He was jailed for 27 months.

Paul Whitney

The leader of a notorious crime family ranted "it's a f***ing joke that" at a judge after he jailed him for nearly 15 years.

Paul Whitney was previously locked up as the ringleader of the Whitney gang, a family drugs ring which flooded the city's streets with heroin and crack cocaine.

He is now back behind bars once again after being identified as the man who peddled class A and B substances using the handle "BulletHawk" on encrypted communications platform EncroChat. And his angry outburst in the dock reflected similar comments he made when police raided his home on his 43rd birthday.

Whitney told officers "it's my birthday, this is a joke" as they arrested him while executing a search warrant. He admitted conspiracy to supply cocaine, heroin, ketamine and cannabis and conspiracy to launder money and was jailed for 14 years and nine months

Paul Blackhurst

A man used a sharpened dog tag to slash his uncle's face after a fight in a pub.

Paul Blackhurst, of Knowles Street, Wigan, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday after attacking his uncle following an argument in the pub. On December 18, 2021, the 29-year-old joined his family at a party at the Jubilee Inn, in Litherland, where his uncle, William Lloyd, was also present.

The pair had a prolonged verbal altercation at the party at around 11pm, which resulted in Blackhurst striking Mr Lloyd in the face with the sharpened edge of a dog tag. He pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, and was sentenced to three years and nine months in jail.

Thomas Goodier

A man has been jailed for 20 years after raping a woman.

Thomas Goodier, 25, from St Helens appeared in Caernarfon Crown Court on Wednesday, December 14, where he was found guilty of two counts of rape committed in North Wales. One of those counts referred to multiple offences committed over a period of time.

Goodier was jailed for 20 years, with an extended license of seven years.

Gary Simpson

A cruel robber snatched cash from the hands of a man who was about to have his beloved dog put down.

Gary Simpson followed his victim out of a shop after he had used its cash machine to withdraw hundreds of pounds in order pay vets bills for the heart-wrenching procedure, then callously stole these monies. Later the same day, he robbed a supermarket at knifepoint - causing the woman working behind the till to start sleepwalking.

The 37-year-old then appeared holding a packet of Poppets which he seemed to be wishing to purchase at the counter of a nearby Heron Foods store. He instead shoved her over, at which point she saw that he was brandishing a knife with a curved blade of around five inches in length, and stole £50 from the till.

Simpson admitted robbery, theft and possession of a bladed article in a public place. He was jailed for 56 months.

Nathan Sweeney

Clifford McNamee, 47, of Rusland Road, Kirkby and Nathan Sweeney, 46, of Fern Close, Kirkby, were involved in a large-scale conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

Sweeney, with the EncroChat handle "RigidForce", and McNamee, who went by "CliffsHard", each owned an encrypted device and were identified based on images and messages sent. Sweeney was sentenced to ten years and one month imprisonment, and McNamee was sentenced to nine years and one month.

Phillip Lam

A wanted fraudster fled the country and remained at large for nearly two years before being arrested after a car crash in Spain.

Phillip Lam went on the run before he was due to be sentenced for stealing the details of more than 1,000 credit cards to book flights and hotels in a scam worth in the region of a million pounds. He was able to fund a lavish lifestyle on the back of his deception, which left his victims significantly out of pocket and businesses on the brink of bankruptcy.

The 31-year-old - of no fixed address, but from Dingle - failed to appear for his sentencing in March 2021, having been released on bail after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. The swindler was handed four years and nine months behind bars in his absence.

But Lam appeared in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday after being extradited back to the UK. He was detained on an international arrest warrant in Marbella at around 2.30am on November 6 this year following a collision, after which he attempted to resist Spanish police officers.

Lam arrived back into the country at Gatwick Airport on Wednesday night with the assistance of Interpol and the National Crime Agency. He admitted breaching bail the following day and was handed an additional two months behind bars.

Peter Wright

A top chef shook his head and smirked as he was finally brought to justice for sexually abusing young girls.

Peter Wright, who has worked in some of the city's most highly-regarded restaurants and been hired to cater for private clients abroad, "poisoned" his two victims - leaving them "devastated". Despite this, he has shown an "utter disregard" for his vile crimes and "does not seem to care" for the impact on their lives.

A trial at Liverpool Crown Court previously heard that the now 31-year-old, of Old Swan, repeatedly targeted them when they were aged as young as 12 during the noughties. Wright, who was also a juvenile at the time, also tried to rape one of the girls on one occasion.

Wright was convicted of attempted rape and eight counts of sexual assault by a jury. He was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Kristofer Mason

The dad and a mysterious figure known only as "Rock Forever" sat at the top of a lucrative heroin and cocaine ring.

Kristofer Mason used the handle "AtomHawk" as he discussed the importation of class A drugs on encrypted communication platform EncroChat. But he was eventually ensnared at an airport as he prepared to board a flight out of the UK.

The 44-year-old "organised the adulteration and supply" of kilo quantities of drugs throughout the country in partnership with fellow user "RockForever" - who has not yet been identified. They had a network of couriers with vehicles boasting hides to stow illicit substances in and used taxi drivers to transport commodities during lockdown.

Mason admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine and cannabis. He was jailed for 13 years and four months.

Nathan Nash

The "danger to young women" sexually assaulted a woman on a train and returned to the scene to find her again.

The victim managed to record pervert Nathan Nash, of Ribblesdale Close, Eastham, as he told her he was "horny" and rubbed her thigh on the Merseyrail service. The 30-year-old the followed her to her place of work before waiting for her at the train station after her shift ended.

He admitted sexual assault and was jailed for a year.

Hollie Griffin

A woman repeatedly stabbed a man in the legs before her dad bit his face as he lay unconscious then viciously booted him in the head.

Paul Griffin knocked the victim out after the first blow had been swung at him outside his daughter's home. But the railway worker then began raining a flurry of sickening blows down on Gareth Rowlands' face while he was lying motionless in the street.

At the same, Hollie Griffin hacked at his legs with a kitchen knife - which her father had been using to cook a roast dinner only minutes before. Paul Griffin finished off the shocking assault - which was caught on camera - by sinking his teeth into Mr Rowlands' face, smashing his head into the floor and kicking him so hard that his flip flop flew off.

Both Griffins admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a bladed article in a public place. Hollie Griffin was jailed for 40 months, with Paul handed six years.

Michael McGrane

The convicted murderer and sexual predator was found with more than 1,500 indecent images and videos of children after being released from jail.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Michael McGrane, 60, of Victoria Street, Southport, downloaded the content over a one year period, ten years after being released from jail in Australia for sexual assault and murder. He was sentenced to nine months for his latest crimes.

Rodger McKindley

The painter and decorator asked an elderly customer to perform sexual acts on him despite knowing she had dementia.

Rodger McKindley performed a sex act on himself five times in the presence of the woman in her eighties, and persuaded her to touch his private parts on another occasion. The 70-year-old was sentenced to 20 months.

Jack Nolan

The drug dealer, who was previously spared prison over a brawl which saw a granddad stabbed in the back, said "nice one mate" to a judge as he was finally locked up.

Jack Nolan had already walked free from Liverpool Crown Court during 2022, but failed to attend unpaid work sessions and appointments with the probation service as part of his suspended sentences after he was stabbed himself - leaving him housebound and heavily reliant on ketamine. He begged for one final chance in court last month, but his pleas fell on deaf ear

The 20-year-old admitted two counts of breaching a suspended sentence order and was jailed for 18 months.

John O'Donnell

Two teenagers were racially abused and attacked with a screwdriver by a stranger in the street.

John O’Donnell walked past a 17 and 18-year-old on Fell Street, Kensington, then started shouting racial abuse towards the victims. The 56-year-old, of no fixed address, then got out a screwdriver and attacked one of the victims, leaving him with neck and cheek injuries.

The second teen suffered a slash to his arm. O’Donnell pleaded guilty to two counts of racially aggravated assault and was sentenced to a total of 26 months in prison.

Christopher Cheeseman

A man's drink and drug-fuelled celebrations after a win on the horses ended with him repeatedly stabbing his housemate and hitting him in the head with a hammer.

Christopher Cheeseman binged on ketamine, cocaine, sambuca and tequila before brutally attacking his friend as he slept in his own bed. The innocent victim was left fearing he was going to die and suffered a fractured skull as a result.

Cheeseman admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent. He was jailed for eight years and handed an additional four years on licence.

Scott Dyer

The head of a heroin and crack cocaine "business" tried to flee over the fence of his back garden when police raided his home, then told his wife: "It's nothing to do with you girl, it's all me."

Scott Dyer entered the underworld and began supplying to other drug dealers after racking up huge gambling debts. He also recruited his brother Joseph to work on his behalf, and was caught with tens of thousands of pounds in cash hidden under his bathroom sink.

Both brothers - who appeared via video link to HMP Altcourse - admitted conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine, while Scott Dyer also pleaded guilty to money laundering. He was jailed for nine-and-a-half years, while Joseph Dyer was handed four years.

Mark Edwards

A depraved paedophile took Lego Star Wars sets and a toilet brush to a sordid meetup at a Costa Coffee.

Mark Edwards brought the gifts and a sex toy, among other troubling items, to the Edge Lane branch - where he had hoped to meet with the parents of a seven-year-old boy, whom he planned to rape. The convicted sex offender used the pseudonym Daddy4Young on an online fetish forum as he sought out young victims to abuse.

Edwards - of Quadrille Lawns in Wolverhampton - admitted two counts of arranging a child sex offence, encouraging sexual activity with a child, three charges of making indecent images, possession of indecent images and breaching a sexual harm prevention order. Appearing video link to HMP Altcourse, he was jailed for eight years and handed an extended four-year licence period.

Robert Pearson

A paedophile head teacher was out of prison for a matter of weeks before he "went back to his old ways".

Robert Pearson claimed to be "shocked and concerned" after police found a stash of "the most depraved form" of indecent images on his mobile phone. The pensioner has now been convicted of sexual offences for a fourth time, having also abused a girl at the turn of the century.

Appearing via video link to HMP Risley, Pearson was jailed for 20 months.

Andrew Woodward

A dad strangled his girlfriend in front of a screaming child before burning her clothes.

Andrew Woodward, 43, of Crossley Road, St Helens, was found guilty of two counts of strangulation. He strangled partner Laura Jackman, 27, on two separate occasions, with three children present.

He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for each count of intentional strangulation, meaning he will serve three years in prison.

Laurence Carthy

A mum awoke to find that a bloodied man had spent the night sleeping in her young son's bed.

The nurse got up and called her children to get ready for school before running a bath, but was then confronted by a stranger covered in blood on the landing. This intruder, Laurence Carthy, had broken into the house in order to steal items including games consoles but drunkenly passed out while doing so.

He admitted burglary and was jailed for two years.

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