A father-of-two stabbed an armed intruder to death after a masked gang beat him in front of his family.
The man, who has not been named, protected his family when six men broke into his home in Selby, a Yorkshire town 12 miles south of York.
Armed with weapons and wearing balaclavas, the burglars began to attack the father with a crowbar while his two young children watched.
During the struggle in March 2022, the man grabbed a knife and stabbed one of the intruders.
The five unhurt attackers fled in a getaway car, leaving their fellow gang member behind as the victim phoned 999 to save his life.
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Despite being given CPR after ambulance crews arrived, the sixth attacker died at the scene.
A manhunt was launched to track down the five remaining men: Alan James Hall, 34, of Selby; Daniel Welford, 32, of Pontefract; Max Jackson, 33, of Stockton on the Forest, York; Kallan Hunt, 35, of no fixed address and Andrew Richardson, 38, of Doncaster.
Only Welford admitted to being in the home but downplayed his involvement in the burglary, insisting he had no idea what the others had planned.
Richardson denied any involvement in the attack – he arrived at the scene to find his friend had been stabbed to death, he told police.
Jackson, Hunt and Hall simply replied ‘no comment’ when detectives presented evidence to them, including phone logs, fingerprints, CCTV and witness accounts
Hall, who had suffered a cut to the hand during the invasion, told officers it was from a dog bite.
All five were charged with aggravated burglary in October 2023 and were jailed this month for almost 70 years.
Jackson and Welford were jailed for 13 years, while Richardson and Hall will spend 11 years and four months each behind bars.
A judge today deemed Hall to be a dangerous offender, sentencing him to 19 years in jail.
Detective Sergeant Jon Kenworthy said: ‘This was a premeditated, violent and distressing attack on the victims, who were home with two very young children.
‘Violent acts of this nature committed on North Yorkshire communities are rare but will not go unpunished and our teams will work relentlessly, however long it takes to bring offenders to justice.’
Kenworthy thanked the victim and emergency services for trying to save the gang member’s life.
‘Any loss of life is a tragedy to the family and the full circumstances of his death have been impartially and diligently investigated,’ he added.
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