Worcester Crown Court Sentencing Results

Jacques Doldersum used the Kik messaging app to send indecent images of himself to individuals he believed were girls aged 12 and 13, who were in fact undercover police officers. He encouraged them to send indecent images in return. He also contacted a vulnerable 14-year-old girl, sending her indecent images and urging her to reciprocate. After his arrest in November 2021, forensic analysis of his phone uncovered indecent images of children. He was charged with 12 sexual offences and pleaded guilty at Worcester Crown Court.

Ian Claughton rigged three properties in Grimethorpe near Barnsley with booby traps including modified crow scarers, fishing wire, stun guns and a homemade flame-thrower made from a fire extinguisher to deter intruders from his cannabis growing and supply operation. His workshop had a sign warning intruders to prepare for their coffin. Caught after Border Force intercepted parcels from China containing imitation firearms addressed to his wife, leading to raids in May 2024. Police found large amounts of cash, including £27,000 in a sofa, a crossbow, amphetamines and other items. About 130 properties evacuated due to traps.

Jabar Paktia was one of six men involved in an acid attack on a three-year-old boy at Home Bargains. The boy was looking at footballs with his brother when acid was sprayed on him at around 2.45pm on Saturday, July 21, 2018. The boy suffered serious burns to his arm and face, leaving him scarred for life.

Festim Ahmetaj, 35, of Victoria Square, Droitwich, was caught growing cannabis, linked to organised criminal gangs, and in breach of a deportation order.

Eric William Lively, 56, of Broad Street, Worcester, breached his Sexual Offences Prevention Order by making unsupervised contact with a child under the age of 16. The original order was imposed in April 2010 following his conviction and four-year prison sentence for sexual activity with a child, voyeurism, and taking indecent photographs of a child.

Over four months, Gregg Mosedale assaulted his former partner on multiple occasions: kicked her in the torso causing bruising; repeatedly punched and kicked her causing bruising to arms and legs, black eyes; elbowed her in the face causing a split lip; on a playing field, kicked her legs from under her, dragged her by her hair and punched her chin causing bruising. Also damaged two light switches in her flat by punching them.

On March 4, 2022, at around 9pm outside Shooters Bar in Leominster, Henry Steven Allun Grain, who had been tasked to as an unresponsive man in a public house, became aggressive after initial treatment and being taken to the ambulance. Body worn cameras and ambulance CCTV were activated. Grain punched paramedic Steve Raven in the face, breaking his jaw. He also damaged one window and broke one ambulance door hinge, taking the vehicle off the road for repairs.

David Edwards committed 11 counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and three counts of causing a child to watch a sexual act between December 2009 and November 2012, involving seven girls aged 13 to 15, via texting and a social networking website.

In May 2020, Declynd Mellings worked with Zackery Biddle using a false profile name to advertise cheap waste collections on local Facebook groups during Covid-19 lockdown. Traced via bank account after customer paid for house refurbishment waste removal. They dumped enormous amounts of fly-tipped waste at Openfields caravan site in Herefordshire.

David Lawrence, operations director and designated technically competent manager of Lawrence Skip Hire Ltd trading as Lawrences Recycling and Waste Management Ltd, oversaw a waste recycling facility at The Forge, Stourport Road, Kidderminster. Between August 2012 and December 2012, the company stored excessive quantities of waste in breach of the environmental permit despite Environment Agency warnings, leading to a serious fire in December 2012 when waste self-combusted. Despite further warnings, the company continued improper waste storage, resulting in a second fire in June 2013 that burned for 8 weeks, caused significant smoke pollution affecting air quality and businesses, contaminated water entering the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal killing 3,000 fish, and threatened drinking water supplies. The site also suffered from flies, vermin and odour.

On Monday April 29, 2024, at around 10.25pm, Ben Woodland, 25, of Ploughmans Walk, Droitwich, was driving a VW Golf along the A4538 Pershore Lane near junction six of the M5, towards Spetchley. He failed to negotiate a left-hand bend, causing the vehicle to travel on to the wrong side of the road and collide with a Honda Civic driven by a 57-year-old man. This resulted in fatal injuries to the Honda driver and serious injuries to Woodland's passenger. Woodland failed a roadside drug wipe, testing positive for cocaine.

Alan Saffery, a 61-year-old former police officer from Hereford, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for a series of historical sexual offences against children spanning the 1970s and 1980s, alongside more recent child pornography charges. Saffery, who once served with West Mercia Police, was convicted at Worcester Crown Court of six counts of indecent assault and two counts of sex with a girl under the age of 13. These crimes involved the abuse of a young girl, exploiting his position of trust within the community. The court heard that Saffery's offences came to light during another investigation when the victim reported the abuse to officers. In addition to the historical charges, Saffery was found guilty of two counts of making indecent photographs of children in 2013. He was acquitted of two counts of rape of a girl under the age of 16 relating to a second alleged victim. The case highlights the long shadow cast by such predatory behaviour, with the offences dating back some 40 years. Judge Robert Juckes QC, presiding over the trial, emphasised the gravity of Saffery's betrayal of public trust. 'Your job was to protect members of the community, not to abuse them,' the judge stated during sentencing. Detective Inspector Richard Rees of West Mercia Police described Saffery as a 'dangerous sexual predator' who hid behind a facade of respectability. 'Outwardly, Saffery was a respected police officer and an upstanding member of the community. However, behind closed doors he was a dangerous sexual predator who took advantage of a young girl,' Rees said. 'Today his past has caught up with him.'

Andrew Gibson, chairman and sales director of Lawrence Skip Hire Ltd trading as Lawrences Recycling and Waste Management Ltd, oversaw a waste recycling facility at The Forge, Stourport Road, Kidderminster. Between August 2012 and December 2012, the company stored excessive quantities of waste in breach of the environmental permit despite Environment Agency warnings, leading to a serious fire in December 2012 when waste self-combusted. Despite further warnings, the company continued improper waste storage, resulting in a second fire in June 2013 that burned for 8 weeks, caused significant smoke pollution affecting air quality and businesses, contaminated water entering the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal killing 3,000 fish, and threatened drinking water supplies. The site also suffered from flies, vermin and odour.

Adam Cech was one of six men involved in an acid attack on a three-year-old boy at Home Bargains. The boy was looking at footballs with his brother when Adam Cech sprayed acid on him at around 2.45pm on Saturday, July 21, 2018. The boy suffered serious burns to his arm and face, leaving him scarred for life.

Christopher Cuthbertson, a 42-year-old former police constable, was arrested in a police sting operation at Strensham Services near Worcester after he arranged to meet an adult male who he believed would facilitate the rape of a 12-year-old boy. Analysis of his phone revealed evidence of other arranged meet-ups with real children, including a five-year-old victim. He had communicated online to incite children to engage in sexual activity. He pleaded guilty to 11 charges, including possessing and sending indecent images of children and attempting to meet minors for the purpose of sexual abuse.

Between 2006-2009 and 2016-2017, Daniel Barrett secretly filmed teenage couples having sex, including climbing onto a flat roof and placing a phone on a window ledge; hid a camera in clothes to film a child aged 9-12; took naked photos of young girls found on his computer; performed a sex act on himself in a tent while making eye contact with a child for five minutes. His brother reported him to authorities in 2020. Victims reported anxiety, stress, and suicidal thoughts; one mother was physically sick upon learning of the footage.

Darryl Gittoes recovered a bike from a scrap metal lorry and was warned on multiple occasions, including the day before the incident, about riding it along Commercial Street in Hereford City Centre, where a Traffic Regulation Order prohibited cycling between 10.30am and 4.30pm. On 30 July 2014 at about 3pm, Gittoes rode the bike along Commercial Street and collided with 73-year-old Mary Evans, knocking her to the ground. She struck her head on the hard floor and was taken to Hereford County Hospital, where she died ten days later on 8 August from head injuries. The bicycle was later examined and had no brakes, a deflated back tyre, an aged and cracked front tyre, and no bell.

David Alan Blannin was caught driving at 69mph in a 50mph zone on the A40 between Monmouth and Ross in April 2025. When issued a notice of intended prosecution, he falsely claimed that his vehicle had been cloned and supplied misleading images to West Mercia Police to deceive officers. A full investigation uncovered the deception, and he was subsequently convicted of perverting the course of justice.

Christopher Pound, 35, of Godson Place, Kidderminster, groomed a 14-year-old girl through internet chats after befriending her during visits to her foster home. The girl, who was pregnant and living with a foster family, exchanged emails with Pound, and the communication turned sexualised. Pound also downloaded four pornographic images from the internet. The foster mother became suspicious of the time the girl spent online and alerted authorities. Pound fled to America for a few days but returned and was arrested. He initially denied any intention of sexual activity, but pleaded guilty in court.

Christopher Webb, 38, of Tilesford, Worcestershire, began communicating with and grooming someone he believed to be a 12-year-old girl on social media. He sent explicit images of himself, asked for similar images, and arranged to meet at Gloucester railway station on 26 March 2025, intending to have sex with the girl. He was arrested by undercover officers and found in possession of an envelope filled with girls' underwear bearing his home address. Phone searches confirmed his social media profiles and searches such as 'do under 16s need a train ticket?', indicating he knew the victim was underage.