Six men in court over Savile Town knife row

Adeel Hafeez, 21, was left with a wound in his back after the incident, which happened outside the BP petrol station in Savile Town on January 22 last year.

At Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday, Hafeez, of Savile Road, Savile Town, pleaded guilty to charges of violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon.

At the same time during the court’s morning session, two other men pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

They were Samad Ayub, 19, of Headfield Road, Savile Town and Tanveer Azam, 20, of Selbourne Road, Thornhill Lees.

Judge Penelope Belcher gave all three bail, but said: “You should understand that custody will be at the forefront of the court’s mind.”

In the afternoon session, two more men pleaded guilty to offences connected with the incident at the petrol station, which has since been knocked down.

Amaan Safeer, 16, of Old Mill View, Thornhill Lees, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and Zain Ayub, 16, of Headfield Road, pleaded guilty to affray.

John Harrison, prosecuting, said the pleas were accepted by the Crown.

He then withdrew a charge of affray which was put to Muneeb Safeer, 21, of Old Mill View.

Judge Belcher also granted bail to Ayub and Amaan Safeer and ordered that pre-sentence reports be carried out by staff from the probation service.

She said: “The reports will consider all options, including custody, and custody will be at the forefront of the court’s mind. The fact that you are being released on bail is not an indication of your sentence.”

At Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday, Kessar Iqbal, 19, of Quarry Road, Westtown, admitted one charge of possessing an offensive weapon for his part in the incident and was remanded in custody. He had pleaded guilty to violent disorder at an earlier hearing.

All the defendants are due to be sentenced at the court on June 6.