Jury fails to reach verdict in Batley snooker club stabbing trial

Victim Saleem Ahmed, who suffered two collapsed lungs after being attacked, was hospitalised and had to be fed through a tube.

Prosecuting, Rebecca Young told Leeds Crown Court on Monday the victim’s brother Naheem Ahmed was playing snooker with his cousin at Top Break snooker club on September 14 last year when he was approached by the accused, Umar Kahyyam Ahmed.

Umar Ahmed, 26, warned Naheem Ahmed to get out of his ‘patch’ and implied that he knew who was behind a failed robbery at a jewellers belonging to Naheem Ahmed’s uncle.

The robbery referred to took place at Asad Jewellers in Purlwell in August 2010, when a man dressed in a burka jumped the counter to attack jeweller Mohammed Younis.

The robber fled empty handed after Mr Mohammed pressed an alarm button.

In July 2011 two brothers were jailed for their part in the attempted robbery, but the man wearing the burka was never caught.

Umar Ahmed, of Laithe Croft, Soothill, denies wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

On Wednesday he denied starting the fight that broke out between him and five others, including the complainant, Saleem Ahmed.

He said: “It’s not in my nature to be aggressive.

“I had a five year old child with me with the child’s father.”

He said he was heading outside to speak to the complainant when the complainant’s brother struck him from behind with a pool cue.

He said one of his attackers produced a knife, but he managed to escape before he was seriously injured.

Today (Friday) Umar Ahmed was released on conditional bail and the Crown Prosecution Service have seven days to consider a retrial.