Shrewsbury knife-threat burglar is jailed for eight years

Shahid Ali left his victim traumatised and with bruises after punching him repeatedly in the raid in Shrewsbury.

Ali, 39, had also admitted being part of a group of men who robbed a woman of a gold chain in Birmingham city centre.

Judge Peter Barrie jailed Ali for seven years for the aggravated burglary, which happened more than five years ago.

Ali, of St Lukes Road, Wednesbury, near Birmingham, had been convicted following a trial in February this year.

Following the jury's verdict Ali had pleaded guilty to the offence of robbery, for which he was jailed for a further 12 months.

During the trial the court heard Ali had been armed with a 12-inch knife when he burst into the house at Abbey Foregate in October, 2009.

The victim, who was looking after the house in Providence Grove, suffered a cut cheek, split lip and bruising in the raid.

He had been employed by restaurateur Kabir Uddin as a domestic help and was looking after the house while Mr Uddin was abroad in Bangladesh.

He had been in an upstairs bedroom resting when he heard the doorbell ring. When he opened the door nobody was there.

But as he stepped over the threshold he was pushed inside and threatened and the defendant pulled out the knife.

He punched the victim hard several times before searching bedrooms and stealing a quantity of jewellery worth £5,000 and cash and a mobile phone.

A description of Ali was given by the victim and he was identified to the police and his fingerprints were found on the jewellery box in the house.

The court heard that police later discovered that Ali had fled the country and gone to Pakistan, but on his arrival back in the UK in February last year he was arrested. The victim told the jury the jewellery was mostly of sentimental value and had been given to his wife as wedding presents.

Shrewsbury Crown Court heard that Ali had a long criminal record with more than 20 convictions for robbery, drugs, possession of offensive weapons, theft and shoplifting.

Mr Danny Smith, for Ali, said his client had been addicted to Class A drugs from the age of 15 and all his offending had been linked to the need to fund his habit.

He said Ali, who has a family in Pakistan, owed a lot of money to drug dealers which was something that had followed him within the prison community.