London gang attacked car owner outside his home after posing as potential buyers

Layton Jones advertised his Vauxhall Corsa on the internet and on June 7 two men approached him at his home in Upton, Pontefract, asking if it was still for sale.

Andrew Horton, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court yesterday the two went inside his home with him but Mr Jones became uneasy because they were “twitchy” and one, Gerread Tayebi, was continually looking around.

When he got in the driver’s seat Tayebi kept the door open while the first male with him got into the passenger seat and offered Mr Jones an envelope, which he said contained the money for the car.

Mr Jones could see a £20 note through the panel in the envelope but when he examined it inside discovered the rest of the bundle was just cut up newspaper.

Mr Horton said at that point the first male called out “now” and Tayebi struck Mr Jones over the head with something like a cosh, the court heard.

His attacker tried to strike a second blow but he managed to duck before he was able to get out of the car and run off to a neighbour’s garden seeking help. A BMW car with tinted windows then came “screeching” round the corner driven by a fourth man and the three males jumped into it before it drove off.

Mr Jones had a two-to-three inch cut on his head from the blow which required nine staples in hospital. Tayebi was caught because his fingerprints were found on the envelope but the others had not been traced.

Tayebi, 21, of Dersingham Avenue, Newham, London admitted attempted robbery and was jailed for five years four months.