TWO sons who helped get their father elected into County Hall have pleaded guilty to knocking out the front teeth of a teenage girl.
Waqar Mohammed Younis, 20, and his brother Khawar Younis, 17, both of Nuttall Street, Accrington, appeared at Burnley Crown Court on Tuesday charged with occasioning actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm with intent.
The pair, whose father is newly-elected Lancashire County Councillor Mohammed Younis, who defeated Doreen Pollitt by a margin of only 22 votes for the seat of Accrington North, were due to go to trial until they pleaded guilty to ABH and a lesser charge of GBH without intent.
Speaking exclusively to the Observer their victim Lianne Clayton, 18, of Lime Road, Accrington, has spoken out about the attack which left her without two upper front teeth and James Ryder, also 18, her boyfriend, with deep cuts and bruises and needing a CT Scan.
Child care apprentice Lianne said: "This was easily the worst thing that has ever happened to me. I still don’t know why they picked on us. I think we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"Me and James were walking down the street, when a red jeep pulled up next to us and eight lads jumped out. The next thing I knew they were circling us and hitting James.
"I tried to pull them off him, but then I just remember being pushed back and being punched in the face, I think I was knocked out because when I woke up I was on the floor."
The incident happened on 24 November last year.
Lianne, now has to wear a plate covering the gap left by her missing teeth, hopes and is hoped to be fitted with permanent screw in replacements in July which will take six months to heal and set.
She said: "Wearing this plate is a nightmare. I hate eating in front of people at work because the plate falls out and looks horrible. I get really self-conscious and down about the mess it has left me in.
"I am relieved they have pleaded guilty and that I don’t have to give evidence in court. Even seeing them in the waiting room with my family around, left me in tears and fearful.
"Every time I see a red car I freeze. I saw them earlier this month canvassing for their dad who has just been elected and I literally turned round and ran home.
"They shouldn’t be allowed to help with an election when they can be so violent. They have never apologised."
County Councillor Younis, a Tory councillor, won his seat after one of the borough’s closest margins, which saw the votes having to be counted twice.
He said: "This is a very regrettable incident. It was out of character for my sons. They are both very sorry about the whole incident and they will never behave like this in the future.
"I am very proud of my sons and they are now moving on with their lives, education and future."
The Younis brothers will now reappear on Monday 27 July to be sentenced.
Recorder Geoffrey Lowe told the pair: "This case is adjourned for pre-sentence reports so that the court can learn more about you before sentencing. I must make you aware that a custodial sentence is clearly an option. You have pleaded guilty to serious crimes."
vanessa.cornall@menmedia.co.uk
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Anyone that says he is proud of his sons - knowing they have knocked a girl's teeth out does not deserve to be a councilor. He obviously has a very distorted reality and no gauge of what is acceptable behaviour. He should step down from being a councilor and take the time to sort his family out first, but as he's defending them we know he won't do that.
I would really like to see your comments on this story
how can younis be proud of his thug sons
well if this is a sign of the times to come god help us,this person & his family are supposed to set an example, once over councilers and MPs were pillows of our communitys, some one to look up to ,now it seems they take and do what they want,he should stand down,good luck lianne.
what a story!!!! it takes two to tango, so whats not to say that they boys were not provoked??? and what about the injuries they suffered? im not saying this kind of behaviour is acceptable but what about thier story? theres two sides to every story. and Younis being a councillor has nothing to do with his sons being violent so why should he step down? why punish the parents for crimes committed by thier kids!!!!
Even if provocation accured it does not mean that they have the right to physically assault anyone. And in a lot of instances it does NOT take two to tango when it comes to being assaulted. Regardless of that, Younis being a councillor and claiming to being proud of his sons even though they have commited an assault says it all. Either he is ashamed of what they did or he is isn't.
this is a disgrace he should resign now.saying he is proud of his sons after knowing they hit a woman he should resign.im writing to david cameron we will see what hes made of.and what do you mean 2 sides to every story eight people against 2 you are stupid and idiotic.jail them now this could have been murder..
Was this a racially motivated assault? If so, what does it tell us about our elected representatives?
So now we have a councillor that is proud of his violent family? If this man was sorry or ashamed in any way for the actions of his family he would step down immediately. I shall be writing to david cameron myself about this asking for an explanation of why this man is allowed to continue to stand as a councillor.