A man was left brain damaged after he was ambushed and attacked by men armed with deadly weapons – including a samurai sword.
Mechanic Chris Siddle and his work colleague Daniel Wild were lured to a garage in Eccles on the pretext of carrying out some work on a car when they were attacked by two men armed with a samurai sword, a meat cleaver and a hammer.
Mr Siddle was beaten with a hammer and had three of his fingers severed in the attack carried out by Asa Jacques and Daniel Yates.
Yates, of Liverpool Road, and Jacques have admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent.
But two other men – Ishfaq Ishaque and James Freeman – who allegedly helped plan the ambush have denied involvement in the plot.
A jury at Manchester Crown Court were told Chris Siddle owned a business called Diagtech Ltd, involved in ‘engine management system modification and mileage correction’.
The prosecution allege Mr Siddle and Mr Wild, who worked for the firm, had been lured to the garage on Bradburn Street, Eccles, on December 19 last year when they were attacked.
Mr Siddle was found in a nearby garden with serious head injuries. It is likely he had been hit on the head with the round end of a dry wall hammer, the jury were told.
Police at the scene called an ambulance which took more than an hour to arrive.
The court was told Mr Siddle died in hospital but was revived and was operated on three times. He has made a steady recovery but has been left with brain injuries.
Mr Wild fled from the attack and called the emergency services using someone else’s phone.
He said in the call he had turned up for a job and when they arrived Siddle was attacked. During the attack, Wild heard the attackers shout ‘give us the money’, the court heard.
Prosecuting David Potter said although Freeman and Ishaque did not attack the men, they played a crucial role in the ambush.
Mr Potter told the jury: “Ishaque played a crucial role in sourcing the garage, the car used to lure them there and cable ties used to tie them up.”
The court heard Freeman collected Jacques from Stockport on the morning of the attack and took a phone call from prisoner, Elliot Hartwell, currently serving 14 years in jail for conspiracy to supply cocaine.
In the call, monitored by the prison authorities, Freeman said to Hartwell: “The other thing’s sorted today.”
Following the attack Yates and Jacques stole Mr Siddle’s van and fled the scene.
The van was abandoned on Grand Union Way and weapons and clothing were recovered in Trafford Road.
Proceeding.
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