Balaclava gang stab man in his own home

A MAN stole his car after failing to keep up the monthly repayments, a court heard.

Jordan Grace, 24, of Upper Batley Lane, Batley, admitted theft of the Vauxhall Astra when he appeared at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court. Grace bought the £7,490 car from Nextcar in Batley using Motonovo Finance with repayments over 48 months totalling £9,626. He made just one payment of £214 and sold the car for £7,000.

Grace was previously jailed for three years for possession of crack cocaine with intent to supply it, possession of a prohibited weapon, ammunition and a taser.

His solicitor Paul Blanchard said: “The vehicle has now been recovered but I suggest they take better care of who they lend the money to. He has no finances and a criminal background.”

Grace must complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £85 costs and £85 victim surcharge. A COURSE to help people overcome addictions and dependencies has come to Huddersfield.

Members of the Community Church have trained with UK charity Christians Against Poverty to launch a CAP “release group” offering free support for people concerned about the physical and financial impact of their dependency.

The eight-week course will be held at 7pm on Thursday evenings, starting on March 9, at the Jubilee Centre, Market Street, Paddock. A MASKED gang forced their way into a Huddersfield man’s home before stabbing him in the leg.

Detectives have made public what happened at Clara Street, Cowlersley, on Friday December 23 to appeal for witnesses to come forward with information.

During the ordeal, the victim opened his door at around 5.40pm to be confronted by a gang of four men wearing balaclavas who forced their way in.

The gang searched his home and threatened him before demanding cash.

During the burglary one of the gang took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed the man in the thigh.

Fortunately the victim’s friends then arrived and were able to help him get medical treatment.

They also tried to intervene with the gang outside the house.

But they fled with car keys and a mobile phone.

Detectives believe the same gang returned later the same day and found the house locked.

They broke in through a kitchen window and searched the house before stealing a safe.

They fled the scene on foot along Clara Street towards Craven Street where it is thought they got into a vehicle.

Det Con Kris Roberts, of Kirklees CID, said: “This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim and his friends, who are still coming to terms with what happened just before Christmas last year. “These suspects were violent and made off from the property with several items and left the victim with an injury to his leg and extremely distressed. “Anyone who may have been in the area at the time and witnessed anything or has any information is asked to come forward to the police to assist with our enquiries.” The suspects are described as two white males, one with a ginger beard and then two black or Asian males. One of the black or Asian males was described as 5ft 7in tall, of slim build and around 25-30 years of age. He was wearing a black waist length coat with a zip and a hood, black tracksuit bottoms and a mask covering the lower half of his face. Another suspect was described as wearing a light grey waterproof jacket with Adidas tracksuit bottoms and a full face mask which was brown in colour. Anyone with information should contact Det Con Kris Roberts at Kirklees CID via 101 quoting crime reference 13160751357 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim and his friends who are still coming to terms with the attack ...