A paedophile who committed vile acts of sex abuse against animals and children was one of the criminals jailed in Greater Manchester this week.
A dad who killed his eight-year-old son after his BMW aquaplaned on the M60 while he was 13 times the drug-driving limit has also been put behind bars. A banned driver who climbed over his partner as she lay in the passenger seat with life-threatening injuries to escape from the scene of a crash was also handed jail terms.
Jail sentences are handed out to the worst offenders each week and Manchester Evening News reporters are in court to cover the most serious cases.
Read more: Vandals smash up staff cars at Forest Bank prison in Salford
Here are some of the criminals locked up in Greater Manchester in the past seven days.
Teen stabbed pal in horrific machete attack after his mum flushed drugs down the toilet
A thug carried out a vicious machete attack on a schoolfriend over a drugs debt - then boasted on Instagram he was 'armed and dangerous' as he tried to flee the law. Sayam Ali, 18, went on the run following a broad daylight assault with a 12-inch blade, which left his terrified 16-year-old victim bleeding so heavily he thought he would die.
But he was caught at Manchester Airport attempting to board a flight to Malta. The attack happened after Ali jumped out of a car and carried out the attack on his 16-year-old victim in Rochdale on June 14.
The boy had to have a plate and screws inserted during surgery to 10 to 15cm wound which left him with a broken bone in his left shoulder and damage to his muscle tissue. He was left with 'significant restriction' in movement of his arm but doctors hoped he would recover and would lose only some 'motor skills' in his hand, the court heard.
Ronan Maguire, defending, said: "The defendant asks me to express his genuine remorse that he feels for the injury that he's caused (the victim). He hopes (the victim) makes as full a recovery as he possibly can."
Ali, of Hayes Close in Rochdale, who has only one motoring offence on his record, was jailed on Thursday (October 13). He showed no reaction when he was sentenced to five years and four months after he admitted GBH with intent at a previous hearing.
He will be eligible for parole two-thirds of the way through his sentence. He was also handed an extra two years on top of his licence period.
Coward fled and left his pal, 17, with fatal injuries after smashing into taxi in high-speed police chase
A man caused a horror smash after leading police on a high-speed chase then fled - leaving his 17-year-old passenger with fatal injuries. Elliot Martin, 21, led cops on a pursuit while driving a Ford Focus in the early hours of March 31 last year.
Two passengers - including Ronaldo Johnson, 17 - were with Martin. Officers in a marked police car saw him skip a red light. They followed Martin along Wilmslow Road in Withington, south Manchester, onto Copson Street after he took a sharp left.
The Focus was driven the wrong way around a roundabout onto Yew Tree Road, where the chase began. Martin reached speeds of over 65mph in 30mph zones, Manchester Crown Court heard. Prosecuting, Chloe Fordham said Martin didn't slow down, speeding through a red before smashing into a taxi.
Martin 'panicked' and ran away, leaving his two passengers unconscious in the car. Both suffered serious brain injuries and fractures and were rushed to Salford Royal Hospital. Tragically, on April 6, Ronaldo died of his injuries.
Ronaldo, who was studying at Openshaw college and was a talented athlete, left behind his parents and five siblings. The other passenger, a young man, was left with life-changing injuries.
Less than 24 hours on from the crash - at around 11.40pm the day Ronaldo died - Martin handed himself in at Longsight police station and admitted what he had done. Martin, of Calderdale Avenue, Chorlton, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving; driving without a licence or insurance; and causing serious injury by dangerous driving,
On Thursday (October 13) he was jailed for six years.
Driver tried to drag critically injured partner's body through a window before bolting after horror crash
A driver climbed over his partner as she lay in the passenger seat with life-threatening injuries to escape from the scene of a crash. Craig Hirtle then returned later to try drag her injured body through a window before fleeing again, a court heard.
The 44-year-old crashed the Vauxhall Corsa into another car after speeding through a red light in south Manchester. The driver, who had been banned from the roads, went through the light that had been red for 13 seconds at the junction between Nell Lane and Mauldeth Road West in Chorlton on 24 September 2020.
He was arrested by police six days later in another high-speed chase, Manchester Crown Court heard. Hirtle, who pleaded guilty to one count of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and one count of dangerous driving, was jailed for three years by Judge Patrick Field KC who called his actions a 'flagrant breach of the rules of the road'.
Prosecuting, Thomas Worsfold said it was 'fortunate that no fatalities occurred' after Hirtle, of no fixed abode, collided with a Mercedes A class at the junction, causing injuries to both his passenger and the driver of the other vehicle. His partner was taken to hospital with 'severe' injuries including four fractured ribs and a fractured pelvis, which saw her spend three weeks in intensive care and a month in total in hospital.
Mitigating, Mr Harrison said Hirtle, who has 44 previous convictions, was troubled by a drug debt he owed, and was speeding after spotting one of the men to whom he owed the debt earlier that day. Judge Field sentenced Hirtle to three years imprisonment, as well as banning him from driving for five years 'for the safety of the public'.
Paedophile jailed after police discovered footage of him abusing his dog
A paedophile has been jailed for a string of vile acts of sex abuse against animals and children after police discovered footage of him abusing his dog. While investigating another offence, police officers discovered a sickening video of Douglas Moore physically and sexually abusing a dog that was so distressing they had to call in senior officers.
Analysing his phone and computer, specialists revealed Moore, 34, had tried to set up meetings to abuse dogs and children - and searched for opportunities to swap and share material with other abusers. No evidence was discovered that these attempted meetings had come to fruition.
The 'scale of evidence compiled meant Moore was left with no option but to plead guilty', according to police. The dog is now safe, rescued when Moore was arrested from his home in Stockport on November 8 2021.
At Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Moore was jailed for five years after being convicted of 24 counts of multiple sex offences, including having intercourse with an animal, causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, and oral sex with an animal. He was further convicted for possession of an extreme pornographic image or images portraying an act of intercourse, and intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence of intercourse with an animal.
He was then also convicted of child sex offences including making an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child and attempting to arrange the commission of child sex offences. Moore is banned from owning animals and will be on the sex offenders register for life.
Dad thirteen times the drug-driving limit killed his son, 8, after BMW aquaplaned on M60
A dad killed his eight-year-old son after his BMW aquaplaned on the M60 while he was 13 times the drug-driving limit. Leon Clarke had just picked his two young sons up from their grandparents' home shortly before he "lost control" of his vehicle and smashed into a lorry.
His eldest son, Blake Consterdine, died in hospital after suffering serious injuries in the horror crash, near Audenshaw, on February 28, 2020. At Minshull Street Crown Court on Monday (October 10), Clarke, 40, was jailed for four years after admitting causing death by careless driving whilst over the drug driving limit.
He also pleaded guilty to causing death by driving while uninsured. Prosecutor Robin Kitching told the court that Clarke had picked Blake and his six-year-old brother up from their grandparents' home in Middleton at about 1.40pm on the day of the tragedy.
As Clarke drove home along the M60, Blake was sitting in the back seat of the BMW 3 Series while his younger brother was a front seat passenger. It was raining heavily at the time and there was a 'significant amount' of water on the carriageway, the court heard.
The build-up of water is believed to have been caused by a blocked drain and signs on the motorway warned that it was "liable to flooding". As Clarke drove past junction 23, his BMW was estimated to be travelling at about 76mph in the outside lane. However, as he indicated to move left, he lost control of the vehicle.
Clarke attempted to brake but the BMW veered across three lanes before the rear of the vehicle collided with a highways maintenance lorry parked on the motorway's hard shoulder. A fire officer who attended the scene recalled hearing Clarke say he had "killed his son" as he held Blake.
Firefighters and paramedics performed CPR on Blake before he was taken to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. Despite the best efforts of medics, he was pronounced dead that same afternoon.
Sentencing Clarke, Judge Mark Savill described Blake's death as "tragic and unnecessary". He told the defendant that the "parlous state" of the BMW's tyres and the speed he was travelling at had "undoubtedly" contributed towards the vehicle aquaplaning.
However, he said there was no evidence to suggest the drugs in his system had affected his driving at the time. Clarke was also banned from driving for four years and will be required to sit an extended retest.
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