Two Burnley men have been jailed after they threatened their victim and stole her car before going onto stealing another two days later.

Mohammed Adrees, 21, and Qadar Ali, 26, were before Recorder Daniel Lister at Burnley Crown Court on Monday for offences of robbery and aggravated vehicle taking.

The court heard from prosecutor Stephen Parker, how on October 7, 2020, Adrees, of Francis Street, Burnley, and Ali, of Granville Street, Burnley, approached their victim at 8.20pm, while she was sat in her car on her mobile phone in the ASDA car park in Burnley.

The defendants approached the vehicle, knocked on the window and asked the victim for the time. She gave them the time and they then asked if she had £1 so they could buy a drink.

The victim told the defendants she had no money and they walked away.

After a short period of time, the defendants came back and knocked on the window again, asking if they could use her phone to call someone, and the victim allowed them to use her phone.

The defendants then asked if the victim if she would drop them off at home, but she refused, and again Adrees and Ali walked off.

However, the court heard, the victim started to feel guilty and due to her kindness was willing to trust the two men, because she thought they had no money and they needed help.

She drove over to the duo and said she would drop them off where they needed to go.

When in the car, Adrees asked the victim to drive them to his house in Francis Street, and when they arrived Adrees went inside his home before coming back out to the car.

Ali then asked the victim if she would take them to Prairie Food Market, the victim took them, they left the car, went inside the market to buy a drink, and got back in the car.

The victim began to drive again before she was told to stop the car and was told they had weapons.

Adrees, who was sat in the rear of the car opened his jacket and produced ‘a very large sword’.

Recorder Lister said Adrees possessed a huge knife and threatened to kill the victim whilst referencing recent killings in the area to intensify the fear caused to the victim so they could take the car.

The victim proceeded to switch the ignition off, remove the keys, put them on the seat of the car before getting out of the vehicle and running away.

The victim wasn’t pursued by the two defendants, she called the police and told them her location.

The victim said she didn’t know the males and her car was worth £900, and inside it was work equipment and documentation that included her address and place of work.

In a victim impact statement, she said the incident made her feel horrible and she feared for her life when she saw the knife.

She said she felt so unsafe she changed her home address, moving away from Burnley and she also changed her place of work.

Earlier that same day the defendants were in custody regarding a different offence and were released under investigation.

Two days later, the defendants committed aggravated vehicle taking.

On October 9 at just after midday, the defendants went to Bradley Car Sales Limited in Nelson, they asked for the keys to a Volkswagen Golf, got in the car with the key in the ignition and drove off.

Employees thought the defendants had taken the car for a test drive but after realising the defendants were not bringing it back, they informed the police.

At 6pm that day, an unmarked police vehicle saw the car in Hebrew Road, Burnley.

A seven-minute police pursuit followed with the vehicle driven at high speeds of 60mph in 30mph zones, after which both men were arrested.

Recorder Lister said: “Clearly this was a terrifying incident.”

Prosecutor Mr Parker told the court how Adrees is aged 21 but was aged 19 at the time, and has two previous convictions relating to five previous matters.

He also told the court, Ali, is 26 and has had 17 convictions relating to 31 offences, with his convictions beginning in youth court in 2013.

For Ali, Mark Stuart, told the court there was little planning involved in the offences, there was no physical harm caused to the victim and if the offences had been dealt with sooner closer to 2020, the outcome would be different.

Ali has already been in custody since January 2022 relating to a burglary offence he committed on October 18, 2021, where he took his father's key and left with the car.

Mr Stuart stated it would have been better to deal with all matters together rather than the delay it has taken for these offences to be in court.

Mr Stuart also told the court Ali has a completely changed attitude, he has been taking courses and is performing well and the sentence he is currently serving has seen a complete change in him, and he has used the time to his full advantage.

Philip Holden, for Adrees, he said Adrees was immature at the time and he had done no offending until the spree of offending in October 2020.

Mr Holden said since Adrees committed the crimes he has not committed anymore and continues to lead a law-abiding life, he has worked to achieve his forklift truck licence and has worked throughout factories as a forklift driver.

Recorder Lister told the defendants they had complete disregard for the safety of others.

He said Adrees is still a young man at 21 and it is clear he is immature, failing to make good decisions.

Mr Lister said Adrees’ behaviour in 2020 is not who he is now, and he said Ali has made progress whilst in custody.

Addressing the court, Mr Lister sentenced Ali to three years imprisonment and Adrees to two years and three months imprisonment.

On their release they will both be disqualified from driving for 12 months.