Brothers armed with machete sparked Wakefield pub panic during busy Saturday night
A pair of brothers who terrorised a busy pub with a machete on a busy Saturday have been sentenced, with one receiving a five-year jail sentence.
A video showing part of the savage attack outside The Swan with Two Necks in Wakefield was shared across social media days after, showing Haroon and Mohammed Khan using the large knife to smash the windows of the pub and cars parked outside.
They were then confronted by several patrons of the Westgate pub who fought back with a bar stool to send the pair running.
The brothers were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court, admitting a charge of affray, with Haroon Khan also admitting Section 18 GBH with intent, racially-aggravated harassment and assaulting a police officer.
The court heard that the pub had been busy on January 6, 2024, with CCTV showing Mohammed Khan entering shortly after 10pm.
He was seen to speak with a man at the bar and was shaking his hand. Minutes later Haroon entered.
The man was then pushed by Mohammed and struck by Haroon. As people intervened, Haroon tried to punch others before they were ushered out.
The fighting spilled out onto the street and the pair were chased away.
But a minute later they returned. A member of the public was seen to arrive and lit a cigarette outside the pub.
Haroon was seen to approach him from behind holding a machete. He hid behind a car to unsheath the weapon.
Mohammed then ran up and tried to punch the man but missed, before Haroon approached him and slashed at him with the machete.
They both then entered the pub with Haroon swinging the blade at others, causing panic. People fled in fear while Mohammed was “going around squaring up to people”, the court was told.
The pair then went back outside and were using the blade to smash windows until several men confronted them, with one swinging and hitting Haroon with the bar stool around his head.
Haroon fell to the floor and dropped the machete, before fleeing the scene.
The machete victim was taken to Pinderfields suffering puncture wounds to his thighs.
Both brothers were arrested near the scene. Haroon had a cut to his head and was taken to hospital, where he spat in the face of a female police officer and made racist remarks.
The brothers, of Plumpton Road, Wakefield, both gave a no-comment interview.
Mitigating for 23-year-old Haroon, Michael Greenhalgh said he had been drinking and smoking cannabis that night. He said that since being held on remand, he had taken courses in maths and English.
Mr Greenhalgh said: “He wants to apologise to the victim in this case. In sobriety he would not have behaved in the way he did.
“He did something foolish which he is thoroughly ashamed of. If he could turn the clock back he would do so.”
Judge Ray Singh said he did not need to hear mitigation for Mohammed Khan, hinting he would be spared immediate custody.
Judge Singh told Haroon, however, that he took the violence “to another level”. He gave him a five-year sentence.
Mohammed was given 16 months, suspended for two years, and told to complete 180 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation days.