An armed robber who was involved in early morning attacks on hotels has been jailed for eight-and-a-half years.

Night porters working alone at Shibden Mill Inn in Halifax and the Guide Post Hotel in Bradford were subjected to terrifying ordeals after masked intruders forced their way into the premises via the fire doors.

Halifax man David Berry was linked by DNA evidence to the robberies, which took place over a three-day period, and Judge Colin Burn at Bradford Crown Court heard that the offences were part of spree of crimes committed by him in December and January.

Berry, previously of Grove Street South, was found guilty of the two robbery charges after a trial last month, but he also admitted being involved in a overnight house burglary in Halifax and a third robbery during which he dragged a delivery driver from his van and drove off the vehicle.

David Berry has been locked up for eight years

Steven Lynn was jailed for 16 weeks for attacking his partner in the street outside her Batley home.

Witnesses reported seeing the victim lying unconscious and covered in mud.

She told police that her on/off partner had used a bottle as part of the assault.

Lynn, 30, currently of Mount Avenue in Heckmondwike , pleaded guilty to the attack when he appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court.

Dale Dwyer (left) and Christopher Churchill, jailed for manslaughter of Darren Moorhouse

Two “dangerous” offenders have been jailed for the manslaughter of a Honley man who was knifed to death following a row over a television at a flat in Halifax.

Former stonemason and builder Darren Moorhouse , 49, had been visiting his friend at her home in Athol Close, Ovenden, in January when her ex-partner Christopher Churchill turned up to collect his belongings.

A murder trial jury heard how Mr Moorhouse intervened in a fight between the former couple, but he ended up being stabbed in the heart by Churchill’s friend Dale Dwyer as the violence spilled out in the entrance area of the flats.

Dwyer, 26, of Alma Street, Buxton, and 34-year-old Churchill, formerly of Athol Close, were both found not guilty of murder following a two-week retrial at Bradford Crown Court, but the jury convicted them on the alternative charge of manslaughter.

Lee Haynes

A shopkeeper has been so upset by a robbery at her Huddersfield newsagents she has decided to sell up.

Recorder Simon Jackson QC was told of the impact of the raid at J&G Newsagents in Leeds Road, before jailing one of the two men involved today (Friday).

Lee Michael Haynes, 24, was found guilty of the robbery by a jury at Leeds Crown Court and admitted a further offence of handling a stolen phone.

Drug dealer Nathaniel Everton Walsh is jailed

A 26-year-old Bradley man has been jailed for more than four years after police uncovered a drugs conspiracy following his arrest.

Nathaniel Everton Walsh was arrested back in April 2016 after officers on mobile patrol followed the Vauxhall Insignia he was driving on Leeds Road, Huddersfield.

During the subsequent police inquiry a search was carried out at the Bradley home of a 16-year-old boy, who had also been arrested.

Officers found a so-called “Bash Box” containing a quantity of heroin, cutting agents and a blender with Walsh’s fingerprints on it.

Walsh, of Elder Road, pleaded guilty to conspiring with the 16-year-old and others unknown to supply Class A drugs and was sentenced to four years and six months in jail for that offence.

He was also sentenced to an extra three months in jail for an offence of perverting the course of justice relating to threats he made towards the teenager.

Stephen Ryan Hanson is jailed for attacking his girlfriend

A judge has jailed a man for an assault on his girlfriend which he described as “cowardly and bullying.”

Stephen Ryan Hanson was already subject to suspended sentence for a previous violent episode where he left a man with a fractured skull when he visited the victim at her home in Milnsbridge on March 23.

Ben Thomas, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court today that Hanson had been seeing the complainant for about four months and initially that evening things were okay between them.

Hanson, 29 of Carr Street, Liversedge was found guilty at Kirklees Magistrates court of assault and admitted harassment and criminal damage.

Jailing him for a total of 33 months, including a period from the suspended sentence, Judge Robin Mairs said: “This was a cowardly, bullying, brutal attack on a young woman at her home in front of children.”

“Her physical injuries will heal, the emotional ones will take considerably longer.”

Drink driver Mohammed Rashid at Kirklees Magistrates' Court

A drunken driver who led police on a 20 mile chase along the M62 has been jailed for 16 months.

Mohammed Naim Rashid later refused to give a breath test but sentencing him at Leeds Crown Court Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said from what he had seen of footage of the pursuit: “You were so intoxicated you were incapable of controlling your vehicle properly.”

Having collided with the central reservation barrier he was shown “driving erratically, weaving in and out across carriageways, across hatch areas and on the hard shoulder.

“On several occasion the officer pulled alongside you and you refused to stop.”

When he was eventually arrested some 18 minutes later the judge said Rashid was incapable of standing unaided.

Rashid, 41, of Parliament Place, Armley, Leeds admitted dangerous driving, failing to provide a specimen, having no insurance or licence.

Judge Marson told him a prison sentence was inevitable and disqualified him from driving for five years from his release.

A man has been jailed for 12 months for assaulting another customer in a Dewsbury pub.

Leeds Crown Court heard Kyle Wharton, did not know Dean Stead but claimed afterwards he did not like the way the victim had been looking at him.

Andrew Horton prosecuting said Mr Stead was sitting on a sofa in the Black Bull when the incident began around 2am on December 30 last year.

“For some reason the defendant took a dislike to the complainant although they had never spoken.”

Wharton, 22, of Heath Road, Chickenley, Dewsbury admitted assault.

Jailing him Judge Christopher Batty said: “The complainant had done nothing to you and you are obviously someone who when having a drink in a public house thinks it is all right to use your fists.”

He said even after the first blow Wharton was not prepared to leave it there. “This was public violence in drink in the early hours of the morning.”

Violent carjacket Waqas Hussain who was jailed for 12 years

A violent carjacker who sparked a manhunt after he skipped bail during his trial has only had an extra 10 days added to his lengthy sentence.

Waqas Hussain went on the run during his trial at Bradford Crown Court in July and the Examiner reported how he was eventually tracked down and arrested at an address in Heckmondwike just over a week after he had been sentenced to 12 years in his absence.

After hearing the prosecutor’s closing speech to the jury the 20-year-old, who was only on bail because of a “technicality”, left court during a mid-morning break and never came back.

The trial continued in his absence and the jury convicted Hussain on five counts of robbery and possession of a firearm.

The court heard how victims in the attacks were innocent motorists - including a mother and baby - who were threatened with weapons before their cars were stolen.

Hussain, of Fearnsides Terrace, Girlington, Bradford, was sentenced to 12 years in a young offender institution, but brought from custody to be sentenced for breaching his bail during the trial.

Saad Hussain (L) and Adam Lorgat (R), who have been jailed for defrauding Lloyds Bank customers
Saad Hussain (L) and Adam Lorgat (R), who have been jailed for defrauding Lloyds Bank customers

Two customer service advisers with Lloyds Bank stole £42,000 from customers.

Huddersfield man Adam Lorgat and Saad Hussain from Bradford conned 45 customers while they worked at a call centre in Leeds.

The crimes took place during a three-month period in 2014. Lloyds Bank contacted police after discovering the scam.

Lorgat and Hussain pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position.

Lorgat, 24, of Bradford Road, Fartown was jailed for two years, 11 months. Hussain, 26, of Summerlands Grove, Bradford was jailed for two years, five months.

Five other men were jailed for a total of 13 years, nine months for their parts in the conspiracy.

Chaves Keith Colby Buffong-Foulkes gets more than three years for attack in Fartown
Chaves Keith Colby Buffong-Foulkes gets more than three years for attack in Fartown

A man was airlifted to hospital after being stabbed in a street confrontation.

Leeds Crown Court heard the complainant Leon Smith, 41, had gone out to remonstrate with youths who had been harassing his son claiming he owed some money.

Dave Mackay, prosecuting, said Mr Smith made a “foolish decision” to take a work saw with him and had caught up with three youths grabbing hold of one of them near Green Road, Fartown, and telling them to leave his son alone.

The defendant Chaves Keith Colby Buffong-Foulkes – nicknamed “Yardie” – was driving by and saw the incident.

Mr Mackay said he got out to see what was going on asking: “What are you going to do? These are my youngsters.”

One of the youths got a machete from a nearby garage but Buffong-Foulkes told him to put it away. Words were exchanged between Mr Smith and Buffong-Foulkes but then things appeared to calm down and he went back to his car.

However, things became heated again and he returned armed with a knife. Mr Smith had put his saw into his vehicle and went to reach for it again but was stabbed in the stomach by Buffong-Foulkes.

Buffong-Folkes, 23 of Water Street, Springwood, admitted having cannabis with intent to supply, unlawful wounding, possessing a bladed article and was jailed for three years six months.

Professional burglar Patrick Craggs who has been jailed for more than seven years after his pregnant passenger suffered near-fatal injuries in a Brighouse crash
Professional burglar Patrick Craggs who has been jailed for more than seven years after his pregnant passenger suffered near-fatal injuries in a Brighouse crash

A professional burglar has been jailed for more than seven years after his pregnant passenger suffered near-fatal injuries in a Brighouse crash as he tried to flee police.

Bradford Crown Court heard how severely injured Stacey Brown, who was about 14 weeks pregnant, had to be cut free by the emergency services after Patrick Craggs crashed a stolen Mazda Premacy into a Ford Kuga car being driven by a female motorist along Elland Road, Brighouse.

Miss Brown is understood to have given birth to a healthy child earlier this year, but a judge said she was lucky not to lose her life and that of her unborn baby at the time of the collision in August last year.

Craggs, who the judge described as a professional burglar, pleaded guilty to two charges of burglary, two of stealing cars and one of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Barrister Clare Walsh, for Craggs, said the injuries he suffered in the crash meant he was no longer the man he once was and he wanted to apologise to Miss Brown.

Craggs, was banned from driving for a total of more than six years, and he will also have to take an extended retest at the end of that disqualification.

Robber Joshua Foster from Newsome was jailed for a vicious street attack
Robber Joshua Foster from Newsome was jailed for a vicious street attack

A teenager has been locked up for the vicious robbery of two men who were on a night out in Huddersfield town centre.

Leeds Crown Court heard Joshua Foster and another teenager began following 19-year-olds Christopher Kidd and Lewis Gifford as they made their way towards Huddersfield railway station in the early hours of August 27.

Bashir Ahmed, prosecuting, said the victims had spent the evening at a friend’s leaving do in the Parish Pub before heading for McDonald’s but then decided to get the last train home.

They were followed, attacked and robbed.

Foster, 18, of Manor Rise, Newsome, admitted the two robberies, two burglaries and damaging a door. He also asked for another robbery to be taken into consideration and was sent to a young offender institution for a total of 28 months.

David Gordon - sex offender caught out by paedophile vigilante group

A paedophile vigilante group posed as a teenage girl on the internet and trapped a sex offender who had only been out of prison a month.

Leeds Crown Court heard David Allen Gordon had received an extended jail sentence for previous sexual offences.

He was released from that on July 24 this year and a Sexual Offences Prevention Order remained in force restricting his contact with girls under 16.

Within weeks he was chatting to a teenager online unaware that behind the 15-year-old’s fake profile on the social media site was the organisation Parents Against Paedophiles.

Gordon, 48 of Albion Street, Dewsbury admitted attempting to breach his Sexual Offences Prevention Order and was jailed for 18 months .

Fraudster Andrew Rangeley

A brazen fraudster who asked his unsuspecting employers for a reference even though he had already started stealing from them has been given a 26-month prison sentence.

Huddersfield father-of-three Andrew Rangeley kept his previous crimes secret when he got the job of general manager at Bradford-based Shipley Transport Services and in November 2013 their reference was used during a court hearing to help him avoid an immediate prison term for ripping off elderly customers while working for a solar panel firm.

A judge heard that the 48-year-old’s gambling addiction was the explanation for his repeated offending and his barrister Carl Kingsley indicated that over the years his client had run up losses of more than £50,000.

After Rangeley quit his job checks on his computer revealed that had been accessing online gambling sites.

Rangeley pleaded guilty to three fraud charges when his case was listed for a trial on Monday and today Recorder Andrew Haslam jailed him for 20 months.

A 64-year-old man has been jailed for breaching a restraining order.

Nigel Radcliffe contacted his partner despite the imposition of a Restraining Order at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court in November last year.

Prosecutor Shamaila Qureshi said his partner took out the order following a history of domestic incidents but the couple got back together.

Radcliffe, of Gelderd Road, Birstall, admitted being at her property and being in breach of the order.

He pleaded guilty to breaching the order between October 6 and 15.

Richard Prendergast, of Heckmondwike, who has been found guilty of child sex abuse

A child sex abuser who forced his victims to give evidence in court is behind bars - for nine years.

Richard Prendergast, of Heckmondwike, denied 11 counts of historic abuse against two girls.

A jury found the 45-year-old guilty on all counts at Leeds Crown Court last month.

Prendergast, of Westfield Road, was sentenced to nine years in prison and will also sign the sex offender’s register for life.

Gillian Weldrick, 53, and Ortis Dexter Ollivierre, 45, jailed for conspiring to smuggle cocaine in the country

A woman from Huddersfield has been jailed alongside a man from Barbados after the pair used a drugs mule to smuggle cocaine into the country.

Gillian Weldrick, 53, from Dalton , has been locked up after she and Ortis Dexter Ollivierre, 45, conspired to smuggle a kilo of the drug through another man flying in to Manchester Airport last year.

The two were found when Border Force officers stopped their conspirator Andrew McCollin at the airport in September last year after he flew in from Barbados. He lifted his shirt to reveal a kilo of cocaine stuffed in clear pockets wrapped around his body with a bandage.

The drugs had an organised crime value of between £28,000 and £38,000, and a street value of about £115,000.

The pair were sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Taxi robber Brandon Sedgwick-Boyle

A ‘vile’ thug kicked his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach THREE times when she confronted him for cheating on her.

Branden Sedgwick-Boyle, 18, attacked the victim, kicking her in the stomach as well as punching her in the mouth, pulling her hair and grabbing her by the throat.

The victim - who was 18 at the time of the attack - was left with blood coming from her mouth and taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary .

Kirklees magistrates court heard that she was also in the early stages of pregnancy and later suffered a miscarriage.

Sedgwick-Boyle, 18, of Corby Street, Fartown , pleaded not guilty to assaulting his girlfriend during a tense hearing lasting over two hours, in which the victim broke down in tears as she relived the grief of losing her first baby following the miscarriage.

But following a trial he was found guilty by deputy district judge Nalla Lawrence.

Jailing him for 23 weeks and ordering him to pay a criminal surcharge of £115 Mr Lawrence also imposed a Restraining Order preventing the defendant from contacting the complainant “by any means whatsoever.”

Gary Cornelly, of Holme Park Court, Berry Brow, Huddersfield, jailed for burglary and theft charges.

A neighbour has been rewarded for intervening in a burglary attempt at another house in his street.

Leeds Crown Court heard Sajad Hussain became suspicious about the way Gary Cornelly was acting near his home in Grasmere Road, Gledholt on September 18 and kept watch on him.

He then saw him go to a neighbour’s house and try to open a downstairs window.

Caroline Abrahams, prosecuting, said Mr Hussain went out and confronted Cornelly who claimed he lived in that house and was trying to get back in to collect some of his property.

Cornelly, 40 of Church Street, Paddock, admitted attempted burglary and common assault and was jailed for a total of 15 months.

Recorder Taryn Turner said his account on the night that he lived there was a “blatant lie” and thanks to Mr Hussain did not get far.

She added: “Your continued and significant misuse of illicit drugs over many years does not justify or excuse your behaviour.”

She ordered Cornelly’s bike should be forfeited and awarded Mr Hussain £100 from public funds in reward for his actions.

Serial shoplifter Gina Barker, 37, jailed for stabbing a supermarket worker with a hypodermic needle
Serial shoplifter Gina Barker, 37, jailed for stabbing a supermarket worker with a hypodermic needle

A heroin addict mum has been jailed for more than two years for a spate offences including an attack on a supermarket employee who was stabbed in the leg with a hypodermic needle.

Serial shoplifter Gina Barker, 37, was on prison licence in June and July when she committed the latest in a series of crimes which have been motivated by her long-standing heroin addiction.

On June 11 Barker, of Cliffe Road, Bradford, tried to steal bottles of alcohol from a Co-op store in Shipley and when she was challenged by a female member of staff she pulled out a needle and took the cap off with her teeth saying:”I’ve got this. Have this.”

The staff member, who thought she would be stabbed, backed off, but the following month Barker was detained by security staff at the Tesco Extra store in Batley shopping centre during another shoplifting offence.

Prosecutor Andrew Horton told Bradford Crown Court that Barker again pulled out a needle and shouted:”I’ll stab you.”

Judge David Hatton QC said it was a “sad case” which was a living testimony to how an addiction to drugs could ruin a life.

The judge said he had read a “moving” letter from Barker and he hoped that she would be able to turn her life round after serving a prison term totalling two years and 22 weeks.

James Aubrey jailed for 18 months for threatening neighbours with knife in row at Bow Street, Springwood, Huddersfield

A man has been jailed for threatening people with a carving knife after complaining about noise from a neighbour’s flat.

James Aubrey lived in a basement flat below Paul Day at an address in Bow Street, Springwood , Huddersfield.

“It would seem he was completely intolerant of any noise from Paul Day’s flat and had previously made threats of violence to him,” Dave Mackay prosecuting told Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday.

On March 6, Mr Day had two visitors, Naomi Lofthouse and his uncle Jason Hinchcliffe, and they were in the area leading to a communal kitchen discussing what they were going to eat when Aubrey shouted up to them to shut up or “I’m going to come up there and smash your f...ing mouth in.”

Mr Mackay said Mr Day made the mistake of shouting down “come out and let’s talk like men.”

Aubrey, 41, now of Willow Lane, Fartown , admitted affray.

Jailing him for 18 months Recorder Simon Eckersley said there had to be an immediate jail term. “One can only imagine how terrifying this was for those present. Knife crime is a blight, it is only a matter of luck you did not cause injury.”

A homeless man chased children through a town centre with a knife after they threw stones at him.

Police were called to Market Place in Dewsbury by a member of the public who witnessed the frightening episode on Tuesday afternoon.

Drunk Csaba Balazs claimed that he only got the knife, which had an eight-inch blade, out to scare the youngsters after they “bombarded” him and two other rough sleepers with stones.

The 53-year-old, originally from Hungary, appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of an offensive weapon in public.

He was jailed for six months by District Judge Michael Fanning who told him: “Knife crime breeds knife crime. "

Kirklees Magistrates Court, Huddersfield.

A gypsy who “made no effort whatsoever” to comply with his court order has been jailed.

Adam Csaszar was sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work following his conviction for driving whilst disqualified.

He was caught when police in Dewsbury town centre pulled him over as his passengers were not wearing seat belts and discovered that he was a banned driver.

The 20-year-old was handed the community order in March last year but showed up for only his one hour induction appointment.

Probation staff sent out letters about his missed appointments, translated into his native Hungarian language.

He had already been told to work extra hours of unpaid work due to a previous breach but still had 111 hours outstanding.

District Judge Michael Fanning jailed Csaszar, currently living at an address in Sheffield, for eight weeks.

Rasila Akbar at Kirklees Magistrates' Court

A woman caught on camera performing a sex act outside a Huddersfield church made gun gestures as she was sent to prison.

Rasila Akbar was jailed after making no effort to comply with a community order imposed after CCTV operators caught her engaging in oral sex in St Peter’s Gardens.

Taking issue with the Examiner’s coverage of her case in August, the 42-year-old hurled abuse at a female reporter - then made a gun-like gesture towards her.

Magistrates activated a suspended sentence Akbar had, telling her that she’d made no effort at all to comply with it.

They added an extra two weeks to the sentence, sending her to prison for a total of 16 weeks.

A man has been jailed after kicking a tin of paint over his partner - his third assault on her.

Steven Key lost his temper as they decorated the rented Kirklees Council property in Deighton on September 28.

Kirklees Magistrates’ Court heard that Key, 46, was upset after being locked out of the bedroom at the Shepherds Grove house.

Key, of Bishop’s Court in Berry Brow , claimed that he kicked the can at his partner rather than throwing it.

He pleaded guilty to assault when he appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court and was jailed for 56 days.

An aspiring student journalist has been locked up after police caught him travelling in a car with drugs – and a knife tucked into his underpants.

Cliffroy Creighton, who had won a university place to study sports journalism, had few convictions to his name.

But District Judge Michael Fanning told him that he could not tolerate anyone carrying a knife.

The incident occurred on September 23 when Creighton, of Tudor Croft in Bradley was on his way out to celebrate his birthday.

Judge Fanning jailed Creighton for a total of eight weeks and ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the knife and drugs.

Burglar Andrew James Kitcher from Marsh, Huddersfield, who has been jailed for 3 years

A pensioner who went out to buy fish and chips for his lunch found a burglar in his home when he got back.

Leeds Crown Court heard the 86-year-old victim was shocked to see a stranger in his living room who had got in through a window at a house in Huddersfield on March 25.

Confronted by the returning householder, the intruder Andrew James Kitcher rushed to get out the same window and when the pensioner bravely grabbed at his legs to try and stop him, Kitcher kicked out, bruising the man’s hand before escaping.

The victim was left shaken and discovered two watches and some cash had been stolen by the burglar.

Adam Walker, prosecuting, told the court only nine days earlier on March 16, Kitcher was sentenced at the same court to a total of 20 months in prison suspended for two years for damage and robbing his own mother of her handbag.

At that time it was not known he had also committed an earlier burglary on January 3 at an address in Crossfields, Dalton in which more than £4,000 worth of property was stolen.

Kitcher, 22 of Dudley Avenue, Marsh admitted both burglaries and asked for another to be taken into consideration. He was jailed for a total of three years including the previously suspended 20 months.

Judge Simon Phillips QC said he had given Kitcher a chance in March and only nine days later he was committing the burglary at the pensioner’s home.

Harry Trayte at Kirklees Magistrates'Court

A sex offender has been banned from entering several streets in Thongsbridge for two years – after leaving his underwear on a woman’s doorstep and demanding to use her trampoline.

Harry Trayte was also barred from Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and remaining at any shop or library when asked to leave by staff.

The two-year Criminal Behaviour Order was made to prevent the 23-year-old from future nuisance offending.

Trayte was last month ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for five years after exposing himself to a member of staff at the Carphone Warehouse in Dewsbury.

He has since committed numerous offences, including causing a disturbance at Holmfirth Library, shop theft, failing to register his details with police and repeatedly running into the road when he was meant to be meeting his probation officer.

Trayte appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court where he was jailed after admitting to new charges of harassment and resisting arrest.