TWO men who kidnapped and repeatedly beat up a youth to 'settle a score' have been sent to custody for two years.

Imtiaz Shah, 19, and Mohammed Khan, 23, attacked Imtiaz Hussain with a baseball bat after they believed Shah's girlfriend had been insulted. Mr Hussain, bundled into a car outside his home, suffered a fractured eye socket, bruising and bleeding.

Sentencing the defendants - Shah to detention and Khan to prison - Judge Raymond Bennett said it was fortunate that Mr Hussain was not more seriously injured. Shah, of Belford Street, and Khan, of North Street, both Burnley, were convicted of kidnapping, and attempted grievous bodily harm with intent, after a recent trial at Burnley Crown Court.

Roger Booth, prosecuting, told the court at about 10.30pm on an evening in March, a man was coerced into driving the defendants to Hussain's home.

Mr Hussain was assaulted, hit with a baseball bat and forced into the car. He was driven to several places before ending up at a flat on Manchester Road, Burnley, where he was again beaten. The flat was rented by Shah's girlfriend and her landlord alerted police after hearing 'the racket going on.'

The car driver was told to take Mr Hussain to hospital. Meanwhile, police turned up at the flat. Khan was still there. Traces of blood were found, as was the baseball bat.

Percy Wood, for Shah, said he had no illusions about his fate. Of previous good character, he had served the equivalent of a six-month sentence in custody.

The violence was not completely gratuitous. Shah believed Mr Hussain had visited his girlfriend, made sexual overtones to her, accompanied by some 'physical movements.'

He went on: "Any man worth his salt who believed something had happened to his girlfriend would be bound to feel outraged. Even the most respectable of men might be tempted to resort to some degree of force."

He added that Shah, born in Afghanistan, considered it was a private matter, not one for the police.

For Khan, Martin Hackett, said he had learned his lesson and knew he was going to receive a lengthy custodial sentence.

He helped his parents care for three disabled brothers and the Social Services described him as caring, understanding and polite. The offence was out of character.

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