Five more men have been convicted over a revenge attack in Stoke-on-Trent that left a 31-year-old woman with burns to 65 percent of her body and a 13-year-old girl injured. Five other men had previously admitted to offences related to the fire.
The convictions follow an 11-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court. The men were remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date, the BBC reported.
The attack happened on the night of December 16, 2021. Earlier that afternoon, a fight broke out on Kildare Street in Longton, United Kingdom, involving Naveed Hussain, 32, Bilal Ahmed, 26, Kashif Ahmed, 25, and Ali Abbas, 22. Kashif Ahmed suffered a stab wound to the shoulder and was treated at the hospital.
Just before 11 pm, a group of men went to a home on Beverley Drive in Bentilee demanding to speak to Hussain. According to Staffordshire Police, the men smashed downstairs windows and poured petrol inside the hallway and near a living room window before setting it alight.
The 31-year-old woman inside was struck on the head and set on fire. She suffered extensive burns and was placed in a coma for two months. Doctors at the time did not expect her to survive. She lived, but her injuries are life-changing and she will require ongoing medical care. The 13-year-old girl sustained 15 percent burns to her right arm and leg.
Both escaped by breaking an upstairs window and jumping from the house. The woman also suffered a broken pelvis, broken ribs and a lacerated liver, and had to relearn how to walk.
Detective Constable Howard Davies of Staffordshire Police said: "This was a horrific ordeal for a mother to be set on fire in her own home in front of her daughter by a number of men seeking revenge."
Those convicted include Shakil Uddin, Lukman Khan, Riyadh Iqbal, Muhammad Sufyaan-Shah, and Tayyeb Majeed. Five others had previously pleaded guilty to offences including attempted murder, arson with intent to endanger life, and violent disorder.
