Victim's hand severed in machete attack, court told

A man who was attacked with machetes during street violence in Bradford last year had his left hand severed and his leg partially amputated at the knee, a court has heard.

Jurors at Bradford Crown Court were shown CCTV clips of the attack which took place in the Tickhill Street area of the city at about 22:00 BST on 11 May 2025.

Five men have gone on trial accused of conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent, while a female defendant, who was a police community support officer (PCSO) at the time, faces an allegation of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice along with one of her co-defendants.

The defendants deny all of the charges against them.

At the opening of the trial on Wednesday, the court was told the incident began when the victim and his nephew, who was also injured, were "rammed" by other vehicles as they sat in a VW Tiguan chatting to friends.

Prosecutor Stephen Wood KC said the planned attack meant the Tiguan was "trapped" on all sides.

When the two men got out to try and flee, the nephew was struck on the neck by a machete but managed to get into a friend's car and was driven away.

The other man, a 31-year-old, was "pursued, surrounded by a group of males who relentlessly struck him with heavy bladed weapons," said Wood.

"His head, his arms and his legs were targeted. There was nothing (he) could do to protect himself from these blows.

"He sustained a wound to the top of his head which resulted in an underlying skull fracture, but not before his left hand was completely severed.

"He also sustained a partial amputation of the left leg at knee level.

"You might agree with the prosecution when we observe that when his assailants had finished with him they left him for dead."

Wood told the court the severed hand was later recovered from the scene and "by a miracle" it was able to be reattached.

Mohammed Waqqas Khan, 27, of Folkestone Street in Bradford, 42-year-old Rahees Khan, of no fixed abode, Hanzalah Saladin, 27, of no fixed abode, 38-year-old Ijaz Khan, of Kimberley Street, Bradford, and Adam Takolia, 29, of no fixed abode, have all denied charges of conspiracy to murder the two injured men.

They also deny an alternative charge of conspiracy to cause each of the men grievous bodily harm with intent.

Rahees Khan and 30-year-old Alice Dobson, from Baildon, also deny a further charge of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Wood told jurors Dobson was employed as a PCSO with West Yorkshire Police at the time and had access to confidential material held on police systems which related to offences, witness details and police intelligence.

He said Dobson had agreed with Rahees Khan and others to access this information and relay it to him.

According to Wood, Dobson also had access to information about an investigation into another street attack in May which the two victims were suspected of carrying out.

He told the court this provided the defendants with a motive for "revenge".

The trial, expected to last up to 12 weeks, continues.

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