Seven men have been sentenced to a combined total of more than 129 years in prison for their involvement in a revenge arson attack that left a mother and her 13-year-old daughter with serious burns and injuries. The attack took place at approximately 11 p.m. on December 16, 2021, at a home on Beverley Drive in Bentilee, following violent clashes earlier that day in another part of the city.

The incident was linked to a stabbing that occurred hours earlier, when Naveed Hussain, the woman’s former partner, stabbed Kashif Ahmed in the shoulder during an altercation in Normacot. This stabbing, which caused relatively minor injuries, prompted the group of men to carry out a retaliatory attack on the woman’s home.

Prosecutors detailed how two cars arrived at the residence carrying nine men, including the seven defendants—Ali Abbas, Haris Mahmood, Shakil Uddin, Muhammad Sufyaan-Shah, Tayyeb Majeed, Riyadh Iqbal, and Lukman Khan—as well as one man who fled the jurisdiction and another unidentified individual. The group sought Hussain, who was not at the address at the time.

The mother and daughter were inside the two-bedroom semi-detached house when the attackers arrived. They forced entry by breaking windows and setting fire to the property after pouring petrol, causing severe injuries. Both escaped by jumping from a first-floor window. The mother sustained burns to 45 percent of her body, including severe burns to her head, neck, legs, and arms, as well as serious inhalation injuries and fractures that initially led medical teams to believe she might not survive. Her daughter suffered burns to 12 percent of her body, inhalation injuries, and required skin grafts.

Court evidence, including CCTV footage, identified the roles of the defendants in the attack. Ali Abbas was seen leading the group to the property, striking the front door with a kitchen knife bearing his DNA, and igniting the fire with repeated lighter strikes. Other defendants were involved in forcing their way inside, throwing petrol, breaking windows, and participating in the attack. The mother attempted to close the door against them but was overwhelmed.

During sentencing at Loughborough Crown Court, Judge Rupert Mayo described the scene as “virtually impossible to imagine a more horrific” one. He noted the holiday decorations inside the home, highlighting the traumatic impact on the family. The judge characterized the attack as a deliberate act of revenge for the earlier stabbing. Each defendant was ordered to serve two-thirds of their sentences in custody before release on license.

The case underscores the severe consequences of retaliatory violence and the devastating impact it had on innocent victims not directly involved in the initial altercation.