These are the stories of 43 criminals locked up in October for cases linked to the region.

The list of offenders includes three murderers, one of the region's biggest drugs lords and a thug whose hammer attack made his ex-girlfriend's eye pop out.

Among them is one violent crook already locked up once before he was sentenced again last month.

Shaun Walmsley used his initial jail term to plot an outrageous escape that eventually ended this summer.

As a result, the murderer once again appeared before Liverpool Crown Court.

What happened at that hearing, and the sentencings of those 42 others included in this list, is covered below.

HENRY GASKIN

Henry Gaskin, 23, admitted fraud

Despicable fraudster Gaskin conned an OAP into paying £2,500 for a roof repair when it hadn't even been fixed.

The 23-year-old and an unidentified accomplice turned up uninvited at the Haydock home of 70-year-old John Bradbury.

Gaskin and the man, whom he later named as Paul Lee, cold-called at his house at 1pm on September 20 this year.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the pensioner was having lunch when he heard a knock at his door and saw the men.

They said his front gutter was leaking and they could fix it for £10, but he said his window cleaner would handle it.

Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, said they tried to confuse him with "a persistent sales pitch" and said they had already fixed it.

One of them went up a ladder and said his roof needed fixing, before claiming they had done it and showing him a broken tile.

He said he didn't want any work doing but they insisted it was completed, even though they had only been there for half an hour.

The men said they wanted £2,500, which he didn't have, before they persuaded him to go to his bank in St Helens.

The crooks waited in a van outside, but a cashier recognised Mr Bradbury and asked why he was withdrawing so much money.

When the victim explained she called police and they caught Gaskin, now sitting alone in the van, who lied about why he was there.

Gaskin, of Lands End Road, Doncaster, admitted fraud and was jailed for 12 months. He was also made the subject of a 10-year restraining order to protect Mr Bradbury.

BRIAN HALLARD

Brian Hallard, 39, of Gaynor Avenue, Haydock, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, possession with intent to supply heroin and possession of an air weapon

Police called to reports of a mystery fight at a dad-of-one's flat instead discovered a drug den.

Officers found 13 bags of heroin strewn about Brian Hallard's living room in Kendal Drive, St Helens, along with a set of scales and an air rifle.

While he was on bail for those offences he was caught again - this time with 17 wraps of the Class A drug hidden up his bottom.

Hallard, now of Gaynor Avenue, Haydock, admitted conspiracy to supply heroin, possession of heroin with intent to supply and possession of an air weapon.

The 39-year-old was jailed for three years and nine months.

JOSEPH MCCLEAN-EVANS

Joseph McClean Evans, 21, of Britannia Crescent, Dingle, admitted wounding, common assault and possession of an offensive weapon

McClean-Evans attacked his ex-girlfriend's mum and brother with a metal cosh after kicking her front door in.

The 21-year-old flew into a rage when he heard his new partner had been involved in a fight with Jade Blakey.

Liverpool Crown Court heard he armed himself with the weapon and set upon his ex's mum Eleanor Standish, 58, and Julian Blakey, 21.

The "outrageous" attack, in front of Ms Standish's younger sons, aged 11 and 12, left Mr Blakey with a 10cm head wound.

McClean-Evans, of Britannia Crescent in Dingle, admitted wounding, common assault and possession of an offensive weapon.

He was jailed for two years and made the subject of a three-year restraining order to protect his victims.

MARTIN BROWN

Martin Brown, 43, of Hastie Close, Netherley, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent

Brown hit his ex-girlfriend so hard with a hammer that her eyeball popped out.

He struck Ruth Morgan twice, fracturing her skull, before kicking her in the head as she lay in a pool of blood.

Police discovered the 41-year-old with her left eye hanging from her face, which later had to be removed by doctors.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Brown snapped when Morgan threw paint at the home of his new girlfriend, Maxine Anderson.

The vicious assault happened after months of harassment by Ms Morgan against Brown and his new girlfriend, which saw her repeatedly put Miss Anderson's windows through.

Morgan dated Brown, 43, of Hastie Close, Netherley, for two years, before splitting up 18 months before the horrific incident.

She said Brown was a violent boyfriend, but he was never convicted of any offences, despite her contacting police about alleged assaults.

Brown admitted admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm and was jailed for nine years and three months.

KAREN BELTON

Karen Belton, 41, of Gainsborough Road, Latchford, was jailed for 20 months after pleading guilty to one count of theft. Image courtesy of Cheshire Police
Karen Belton, 41, of Gainsborough Road, Latchford, was jailed for 20 months after pleading guilty to one count of theft. Image courtesy of Cheshire Police

Belton was jailed for operating a £200,000 stamp and printer cartridge scam from her office.

She used her Warrington employer's business accounts to order vast quantities of both items - then sold them on to line her own pockets.

She even carried out private sales while at work, operating under the name 'Merlin' on eBay.

The 41-year-old, of Gainsborough Road, Latchford, was jailed for 20 months at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to one count of theft.

LIAM JONES

Liam Jones, of Beechwood Gardens, Cressington, pleaded guilty to possession of the Class A drugs with intent to supply. He was jailed for 40 months.

Jones, who once used a Samurai sword to slash the letterbox from the door of a Liverpool home, has been locked up again after a bungled drugs trip.

He was sent to Swansea to deal drugs - but lasted just two days after being busted when wraps of heroin and cocaine fell from his trousers during a police chase.

He is now back behind bars after receiving his second custodial sentence in just 14 months.

Jones was sent to work in Swansea by a Merseyside drugs gang after he fell into debt with them.

He was caught within 48 hours of arriving in the city - captured after officers went to investigate suspicious activity outside the Brynmelyn flats he was based in.

The 20-year-old fled but was stopped after a short chase, during which a package fell from his trousers.

Jones, of Beechwood Gardens, Cressington, pleaded guilty to possession of the Class A drugs with intent to supply.

He was jailed for 40 months.

PAISLEY SANTOS

A woman who harassed a young victim for money until she became suicidal was jailed for skipping her community service.

Paisley Santos, 20, and her then boyfriend Anthony Creegan, 23, made the woman give them £16,500 and even pawn her jewellery.

Santos and Creegan admitted harassing the timid 23-year-old when prosecutors agreed to drop blackmail charges in January this year.

The couple sobbed in the dock but walked free from Liverpool Crown Court with grins on their faces after being handed suspended sentences.

However, Santos, now 21, of Planetree Road, West Derby, was dragged back to court this week after admitting failing to attend probation appointments.

The barmaid, formerly of Celebration Drive, Anfield, was originally given 14 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, plus 100 hours of unpaid work.

The court heard Santos breached these terms and had a further 10 hours of unpaid work added, then dodged sessions on August 10 and 20.

As a result, a judge activated 10 weeks of her suspended sentence and said, because she had turned 21, this must be served in jail and not a young offenders institution.

SHAUN WALMSLEY

Gangland murderer Shaun Walmsley was jailed for eight years over his audacious prison escape plot.

The drugs boss was serving a 30-year life sentence for the brutal killing of a rival dealer who was lured to his death in Aintree.

Anthony Duffy, 33, was “repeatedly and brutally stabbed” after he plotted to burgle Walmsley's gang's £60,000 cannabis farm.

Walmsley , 29, who left his victim for dead then tried to flee to Amsterdam in May 2014, was jailed after an eight-week trial in June 2015.

But he orchestrated a break-out during a hospital visit on February 21, 2017, which saw him freed by two men armed with a submachine gun.

Walmsley, of Wallace Street, Walton, was finally captured in Leeds on August 21 this year and admitted escape from lawful custody.

ANDREW MCNAMARA

McNamara drove a BMW into a man outside a Liverpool bar in revenge for being thrown out of the venue minutes earlier.

He climbed inside the X1, drove it through the Cavern Quarter and attempted to crash it into a doorman at Remeniss.

But the 42-year-old, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, instead ploughed the car into a stranger.

Liverpool Crown Court heard McNamara had been in the Temple Court bar on Thursday, April 5.

But he was told to leave after a “disagreement” with door staff.

Angered at being thrown out, he went back to his car and carried out his attempted revenge attack.

McNamara, of Fountains Road in Kirkdale , was jailed for 45 months after admitting attempted grievous bodily harm - the target being the doorman he wanted to hit; assaulting a person occasioning actual bodily harm - for hitting the bystander; drink driving; drug driving; and dangerous driving.

STEVEN CLEMENTS

Sex offender Steven Clements is back behind bars after another breach of his sexual offences prevention order.

The 40-year-old, who moved to Devon from Wirral, disappeared to Wales as he fled 'vigilantes'.

He breached his order by not informing police of his movements - but was busted when he was arrested for stealing a laptop.

Clements, from Wirral, was originally locked up in 2000 for six counts of indecent assault on boys aged nine, 10, and 13 and put on the sex offenders register.

Now of London Road, Pembroke Dock, Wales, he pleaded guilty to failing to comply with notification requirements and to theft from a shop.

Details of further breaches also came out of the hearing - including a meeting he had with two children that was recorded when he accidentally rang a police officer, reaching their voicemail.

Judge Keith Thomas sentenced him to 20 months in prison for breaching the sexual harm prevention order and two months for the shoplifting.

The judge revoked the existing order and imposed a sexual harm prevention order to run for 10 years.

STEPHEN JACKSON

Bungling Jackson was busted after he accidentally left a knife at the home he ransacked.

He raided a woman’s home in April, stealing TVs, a laptop and jewellery.

But he was caught after his victim stumbled across the blade the armed criminal had left at the scene on Campbell Street in St Helens .

The knife proved to be Jackson’s downfall, with the 33-year-old tracked down after forensics officers examined the blade.

The burglar, of Pigot Street, in St Helens, was arrested, charged with burglary of a dwelling and pleaded guilty. He was jailed for three years.

JOSEPH MCKEOWN

McKeown armed himself with a shotgun and wandered around a busy supermarket car park hunting for a rival before blasting him in the chest.

The 17-year-old searched for Joey Johnson, 20, after "coming off second best" in a fight at Asda Breck Road Superstore, in Everton.

McKeown brandished a knife when Johnson's friends attacked him during the brawl, then went home to collect a double-barrelled shotgun.

Witnesses heard him shout "I'm going to smoke him", before Johnson turned up outside his property in a Ford Focus, with two other males.

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Liverpool Crown Court heard McKeown fired multiple pellets into his victim's lungs and left him with 11 holes in his stomach and small bowel.

Johnson spent 10 days fighting for his life after his friends carried him into Royal Liverpool Hospital at 5.45pm on Monday, July 9 this year.

McKeown admitted attempted murder and possessing a shotgun with both intent to commit an offence and without a firearm certificate.

He was handed 15 years in a young offenders institution with an extended three years on licence.

FREDRICK FARNSWORTH

Farnsworth was responsible for two dogs who mauled a schoolboy.

Lewis Barkley, 11, suffered horrifying injuries when he and a friend, who cannot be named, were attacked in Speke on June 24 this year.

Harrowing pictures of terrified Lewis, who suffered 17 bites requiring more than 300 stitches, were released by his family after his ordeal.

Farnsworth, 73 and of Stapleton Avenue, Speke, admitted two counts of being in charge of a dog which was dangerously out of control.

But the two Staffordshire Bull Terriers - which he claims he was walking for a man called 'Mark' - still remain at large and could strike again.

Judge Gary Woodhall today said the grandad's stance showed "a complete lack of remorse" and told him: "You should hang your head in shame".

Unrepentant Farnsworth showed no emotion as he was jailed for 18 months.

STEPHEN and BRADLEY KELLY

This pair were among four jailed after police discovered 84kg of cocaine- worth around £14m - when they raided an industrial unit in Speke.

More than £100,000 of heroin and £60,000 in cash was then seized at homes in Skelmersdale, Leeds and St Albans in 'Operation Munster'.

Liverpool Crown Court heard covert officers photographed father and son Stephen and Bradley Kelly at the Spindus Road unit on February 2 this year.

The pair, who were wearing gloves, unloaded cocaine from the lorry - which a judge said may have also contained heroin - at around 10am.

They transferred the cocaine in 1kg blocks to a van, which Steven then drove to Tevesham, Skelmersdale, where he met couriers in five vehicles.

When Bradley’s mum's home in Tevesham was searched, officers retrieved £52,940 from the loft and £1,980 in the hall, hidden by Stephen.

A search of Stephen's property in Charnock, Skelmersdale, revealed around 1kg of 63% pure heroin, in two vacuum-packed brown packages.

Self-confessed cocaine-user Stephen, 55, admitted conspiracies to import and supply cocaine, and possession with intent to supply heroin.

Bradley Kelly, 35, formerly of Tevesham, now of Vernon Way in Bloxwich, Walsall, admitted conspiracy to import cocaine.

Stephen was jailed for 13 and a half years and Bradley for nine years and four months.

ADIL ALASALY and RAED HADDAD

Alasaly and Haddad robbed and kidnapped a young man at knifepoint.

Alasaly, 20, conned Ahmed Kassim, also 20, into handing over nearly £5,000 for him and his accomplice Raed Haddad, 19.

When it was time to repay the money, Alasaly lured Kassim to Princes Park in Toxteth, where his terrifying ordeal began.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Alasaly, of Thackeray Close, Toxteth, contacted Mr Kassim on Facebook in January this year.

He initially persuaded the victim to lend him £300, but they met on some 20 occasions, when Mr Kassim handed over cash.

Alasaly gave the impression he was about to repay £4,710, but in reality kept it and gave some to Haddad, of Claribel Street, Toxteth.

Peter Killen, prosecuting, said Alasaly then failed to turn up to repay the cash, which Mr Kassim needed for a new apartment.

They then agreed to meet at 4.30pm on April 16, when Alasaly introduced Haddad as his cousin, and said they were looking for his dog.

The pair led him away from the main path to a muddy area, where he was confronted by two other men holding Swiss Army knives.

Alasaly punched the victim in the face and demanded cash, but when he said he did not have any, the gang started shoving him around.

Mr Killen said Alasaly took Mr Kassim's car keys and bank card, the third male stole his mobile phone, then they forced him into his Vauxhall Astra.

They told him to drive to his new apartment and when he denied having the flat, Alasaly threatened him again, saying he was lucky he hadn't been cut yet.

Alasaly and Haddad, now armed with knives, made Mr Kassim drive to his parent's home to get money, but once inside he called the police.

Both men pleaded guilty to robbery, kidnapping, having an offensive weapon and aggravated vehicle taking on the opening day of a trial.

They were both locked up for five-and-a-half years.

JONATHON KING

Controlling King broke his partner's nose and collarbone when he viciously attacked her in a ladies' toilets.

The 36-year-old followed Gemma Copeland upstairs at Legends sports bar in Mathew Street, Liverpool city centre, during a boozy row.

CCTV footage showed he pushed the mum-of-two into a cubicle where he punched her in the head in a drink and drug-fuelled rage.

Liverpool Crown Court heard the victim fell and was knocked unconscious before coming around with blood pouring from her face.

King, of Fairview Place, Pensby, Wirral, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm.

He was jailed for two years and three months and handed him indefinite restraining order.

MARK ROBERTS

Former civil servant Roberts tried to arrange a threesome with two schoolgirls - only to discover he was talking to paedophile hunters.

The 58-year-old, from Wirral, sent a friend request on Facebook to a girl called Kiely, who told him she was 13-years-old, on August 10 last year.

But that did not deter the "morbidly obese" pervert who spent months talking to her about sex on a daily basis on Facebook Messenger.

Liverpool Crown Court heard he sent her pictures of an erect penis, requested intimate naked pictures and discussed full and oral sex.

Roberts then asked Kiely if she and a friend called Becky, 14, would sleep with him and offered to send them cash for travel or to pick them up.

But when he went to meet the girls outside St George's Hall, he was confronted by members of the online group Predator Exposure.

They challenged Roberts, of Carmel Close, New Brighton, and put him under citizen's arrest, at around 7.45pm on November 17 last year.

Police arrived and arrested the pervert who accepted that he had gone to meet two underage girls.

He pleaded guilty to attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity.

He was jailed for two years and told to sign on the Sex Offenders Register and to comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.

DONNA BUCKLEY

Buckley made thousands from dealing heroin and crack cocaine and had connections to Merseyside gangs.

Mold Crown Court heard how the 40-year-old had 82 customers and 130 recorded mobile telephone conversations concerning local heroin supply.

The police investigation following her arrest also found that Buckley, of Kings Road, Connah’s Quay, North Wales, would have benefited by £8,200 from dealing hard drugs.

She had been found hiding in a bush with a small amount of heroin after a police chase through Bagillt involving a vehicle which was later found abandoned.

Members of the public had seen three people running away and, when she was discovered, Buckley appeared under the influence of drugs.

She admitted two charges of offering to supplying crack cocaine and diamorphine between October 5 2016 and June 1 2017.

AARON CHAUDRY

Chaudry tried to force his way into a Warrington home while yelling: "I've got a knife, I will f***ing stab you!"

The 19-year-old, who has 44 convictions for 79 offences, demanded his victim handed over his car keys in the terrifying ordeal.

But the homeowner ignored his chilling threats and prevented him getting near his girlfriend or their three-year-old daughter.

And when cowardly Chaudry escaped through a smashed window, the bungling crook cut himself, leaving his DNA at the scene.

Chaudry, of Arundel Street, Walton was jailed for three years and four months for burglary.

DARREN JACKSON

Vile burglar Jackson stole from his dead neighbour .

He rang police and an ambulance after finding grandad-of-three Adrian Andrew at his home in Oxford Road, Waterloo.

The 41-year-old even consoled the musician's daughter when she arrived, before Mr Jackson's body was taken away and his flat secured.

But the heartless drug addict twice broke into his friend's property later that night, stealing his three cherished guitars, a keyboard and TV.

Jackson was jailed for three years for his "outrageous" crimes, which a judge said would "appal any decent member of the community".

NATHAN BLIGH and MICHAEL BYRNE

Drug dealer Bligh had a gun, ammunition and drugs when police raided his home.

The 26-year-old stashed a revolver, five bullets and 28 ounces of cannabis in a house also shared by his mum, older sister and teenage brother.

The gun was found inside a bag hidden in the garden at Bligh's home in Lambourne Road, Walton.

Inside was a Belgian 11.3 calibre Montenegrin Gasser revolver and five 0.44 Remington magnum calibre cartridges, usable with the fully-working gun.

The bag also contained around 800g of cannabis, worth around £7,000, while there was more cannabis in Bligh's bedroom, along with plastic bags.

Bligh admitted possession of a prohibited firearm, possession of ammunition and possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

He pleaded guilty on the basis he was in debt to his drug dealer, was asked to mind the holdall - knowing what was inside - and was not threatened to do so.

He received the minimum sentence of five years in jail for possessing the revolver.

Michael Byrne, of Freehold Street, Fairfield, formerly from the Anfield area, was jailed for five months, after he admitted possessing cocaine and cannabis.

The 28-year-old was with sitting with Bligh with small quantities of cocaine and cannabis on a table next to them when police attended the home.

DALE MURRAY

Psychotic Murray repeatedly stabbed a stranger in the neck as he walked home from the pub.

Dad-of-three Thomas Grace suffered five stab wounds at the hands of paranoid schizophrenic heroin addict Murray.

He screamed "I am f***ing dying" after the tragic chance encounter - just five days after Murray was released from prison.

The 54-year-old was found close to a block of flats in Beaconsfield at around 9.30pm on Tuesday, October 10 last year.

Murray, 31, who was arrested nearby, admitted possessing a knife, but denied murder in a trial at Liverpool Crown Court .

He also denied wounding with intent after previously stabbing a cell mate, Anthony Ryan, when in HMP Liverpool on August 7.

Murray disputed that he smoked the drug spice, then slashed his friend's neck with a broken cup and said: "Dad, they're telling me".

He claimed that when he stabbed Mr Grace he was only asking for change, but was hearing voices telling him to kill or be killed.

However, jurors unanimously found him guilty of both charges after a 10-day trial and less than two and a half hours of deliberation.

Judge Andrew Menary, QC, said Murray - who has 80 previous convictions for 184 offences - lied to police, doctors and the jury.

He was jailed for life and will serve a minimum of 23 years.

WILLIAM SMART

Vicious Smart beat his girlfriend with a guitar and stabbed her with a broken drumstick in a sustained and frenzied murder.

He also used his hands and fists to viciously pummel partner Angela Craddock in her own home in Howley, Warrington .

The 55-year-old left Ms Craddock, a slight and vulnerable 40-year-old, with more than 100 separate injuries before Smart stripped her naked and left her dying body under a sheet, Liverpool Crown Court was told.

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Judge Neil Flewitt handed the alcoholic a life sentence for the April 10 attack and ordered he serve a minimum of 19 years after jurors found him guilty of murder.

Smart, of Winmarleigh Street, Warrington, had admitted killing his partner, but denied murdering her, a claim rejected by a jury who found him guilty by a majority decision on Tuesday.

MICHAEL MCTIGUE

McTigue stabbed his friend in the face after turning up at his door and saying: "Who do you think you are laughing at? I’ll cut you up."

The horrific attack was sparked when McTigue, 32, phoned the victim from the Boat Museum in Ellesmere Port .

McTigue, of Pembridge Court, Ellesmere Port was jailed for six and a half years after Chester Crown Court heard he stabbed his 24-year-old victim because he thought he was being laughed at.

The victim was slashed in his face with the knife causing injury to his cheek all the way down towards his chin.

BEN DOYLE

Inmate Doyle was caught with a prison shank at HMP Altcourse - but said it wasn't intended as a weapon.

Prison guards searched 21-year-old heroin dealer's cell at the Fazakerley jail on April 17 this year.

Liverpool Crown Court heard they seized what was described as "a nail protruding from an item wrapped in a piece of cloth".

Iain Criddle, prosecuting, said: "It was recovered from the top of the toilet door. The defendant immediately said that it was his and said it was used for engraving."

He said Doyle repeated this claim again in a police interview and produced a photo of a picture frame, which he claimed to have engraved.

Doyle, of no fixed address, admitted possessing a blade or sharply pointed article.

He is currently serving a two-year sentence for possessing heroin with intent to supply, imposed on February 9 this year.

He was handed two months in prison, concurrent to his existing prison sentence, meaning he should still be released in February next year.

ANTHONY BATTLE and JAMES MURPHY

Battle and Murphy were jailed for a massive amphetamine find after police pulled over a Ford Kuga on the M6.

Battle was acting as a courier, driving 1.9kg of amphetamines from Liverpool down to the south coast when he was stopped by officers from Central Motorways Policing Group on April, 5 2017.
A search of Battle’s car in south Staffordshire, led to the discovery of the drugs – with a street value of around £20,000 – hidden inside a petrol can.
Forensic work on the amphetamine wraps led officers to another man, James Murphy.

When Murphy’s Liverpool address was searched 1kg of cannabis skunk was found along with a cash-counting machine and £100,000 in a carrier bag.

On October 11 at Stafford Crown Court Murphy, aged 31, of Lower Close, Halewood , was sentenced to three years and nine months.

Battle, aged 55, of Norfolk Road, Weymouth, was sentenced to four months imprisonment.

MAJOR DRUGS GANG

The leading players in a top-level drugs network that supplied gangs across Liverpool and beyond were locked up this week.

Led by Ian Spackman, the nine men basked in the riches of their empire - taking luxury holidays, flashing watches worth thousands of pounds and parking expensive cars on the driveways of their often plush homes.

They now face a combined total of almost 130 years in jail after it was revealed their wealth was funded on the misery of addiction.

They included:

- Ian Spackman, 37 and of Rosslyn Avenue in Maghull. Jailed for 17 years and four months

- James Gannon, 36 and of Sunbury Road in Anfield, was jailed for 22 years

- Tom Collins, 34, of Higher Lane in Fazakerley, was jailed for 16 years

- Marc Campbell, 41 and of Ince Road in Thornton, jailed for 14 years

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- Wayne Franklin, 34 and of Buxted Road in Kirkby, was jailed for nine years

- Peter Mulvaney, 35 and of Larchfield Road in Thornton, was jailed for 19 years

- Paul Hornby, 40 and of Pemberton Road in Old Swan, was jailed for 13 years and 4 months

- John Carey, 34 and of Henry Street in Liverpool city centre, jailed for 11 years and four months

- Gary Unsworth, 34, of Orrell Lane, Orrell Park, was jailed for seven years and six months

Paul Cleary

Paul Cleary, 25, of Amelia Close, Everton, admitted two counts of rape

A man who raped two sex workers when he was still a boy was jailed - 11 years later.

Paul Cleary, 25, punched and kicked his victims - one of whom labelled him a "horrible monster" - in vicious attacks carried out either side of his 14th birthday.

Liverpool Crown Court heard he got away with it for more than a decade, due to police failings over forensic evidence.

The teen targeted the women just over a month apart in the Kensington area.

The court heard Cleary was 6ft and heavily built at 12 and would have appeared a man and “a terrifying proposition”.

Jailing him for three years, Judge Rachel Smith said: "You persuaded two women - each of them was working as a prostitute - to go with you on the pretext you were a legitimate customer.

"You persuaded them to go with you for sexual services to what was inevitably an isolated location, where you used violence and verbal intimidation against them.”

Mark Hollaway

Mark Hollaway, 35, of Dorset Road, Tuebrook, admitted resisting arrest and assaulting a police officer

A cocaine-snorting yob repeatedly caught with knives was finally jailed after attacking a police officer.

On one occasion, Mark Hollaway took five grams of the Class A drug before walking into a police station and confessing: “I have a knife and I need arresting.”

When asked where the weapon was, the 35-year-old whipped out a serrated steak knife with a five inch blade, which he was gripping tightly.

Hollaway was seen pacing back and forth and continuously rang the bell at the enquiry counter even when an officer was on his way out.

However, he was finally jailed after police attended a report of a domestic incident at his home in Dorset Road, Tuebrook, on August 15.

Hollaway resisted arrest and continued to be aggressive at a police station, attacking the civilian detention officer booking him in.

Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said the police officers were just doing their job in trying to protect the public and should not be subjected to attacks.

He gave Hollaway 12 weeks in prison for the new offences and activated 10 months of his suspended sentences.

BRIAN KEEGAN

A drunken Liverpool fan was jailed after sexually assaulting a flight attendant after this year’s Champions League final.

Brian Keegan was travelling back to the UK in May this year after flying to Kiev to watch LFC take on Real Madrid .

On the flight back to Manchester, the 55-year-old Liverpool man reportedly became abusive when he was refused alcohol on the flight.

Manchester Crown Court heard that Keegan had been drinking in the airport ahead of boarding and then, while on the flight with two friends, asked for two vodka and cokes.

A general view of the entrance to Terminal Two at Manchester Airport, taken from Google Street View
A general view of the entrance to Terminal Two at Manchester Airport, taken from Google Street View

According to the Manchester Evening News, a number of other passengers had complained about Keegan which annoyed him.

Keegan, of Diamond Street, Vauxhall, pleaded guilty to one count of being drunk on an aircraft and another count of sexual assault.

He was sentenced to eight months in prison, and was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years following his conviction.

Jonathan Gaskell

Jonathan Gaskell, MD of Gaskells Waste Management
Jonathan Gaskell, MD of Gaskells Waste Management

Company boss Jonathan Gaskell, 47, of Peckforton Hall Lane, Tarporley, was jailed for eight months after an incident in which a dad-of-two was killed in an horrific accident involving industrial machinery.

The court heard Polish national Zbigniew Galka, 39, had climbed into a baling machine to clear a blockage at Gaskell's Waste Services in Bootle in 2010.

But the machine automatically activated and Mr Galka suffered severe traumatic injury to both legs. He died on his way to hospital.

Despite this, Gaskell continued to operate the same baling machine in a dangerous manner up to five years after Mr Galka’s death.

This was noted as a serious aggravating factor by the judge upon sentencing, who said it was “unthinkable” that the company could have allowed the 2010 incident to happen once more.