THREE men have been jailed for their roles in a false imprisonment and blackmail case in which the victim was punched, kicked and burned with a cigarette.

Jared Whitehouse, 26, of Westgate House, Wakefield; Tabis Adalat, 22, of Norfolk Place, Halifax; and Nazam Ali, 25 of Oak Terrace, Halifax, were involved in the violence almost four years ago.

Bradford Crown Court heard today that Whitehouse, who is currently in jail in Northern Ireland, accused the male victim of stealing £1,000 from his address on June 23, 2018.

The male owned up to stop them attacking him after he was punched, kicked and a cigarette put out on him at an address in Calderdale.

His parents were then phoned and the money demanded from them, the court heard.

The male was dropped off back at his home but the money was transferred to Whitehouse’s bank account after threats were made to return if he didn’t pay up.

The victim sustained cuts and swelling to his face while all three defendants were present, the court was told.

All three pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and blackmail.

Whitehouse, formerly of Brighouse, was jailed for 32 months, Adalat for 18 months and Ali for 16 months.

Recorder Ashley Serr said the offences were so serious that only immediate prison sen-tences met the justice of the case.

Ali had no previous convictions and was now in full-time employment at a bed factory.

He had turned his life around in the four-year delay since the offence was committed.

The court heard he attempted to stop the violence and had nothing to gain personally from the offences. But the probation service had suggested no alternative to immediate custody.

Recorder Serr said blackmail struck terror into the heart of its victims.

Adalat was only 19 at the time and he was the first defendant to plead guilty two years ago. He was married with a child and had moved his life on in the lengthy period of time since committing the offences.

But he had a previous conviction for robbery that involved making demands by force.

Whitehouse had 16 convictions for 26 offences, including matters of violence.

Recorder Serr said he was the ringleader in the offending.

He accepted that he was remorseful and only 21. He had been in custody for eight months.

The recorder made a restraining order banning the three men from contacting the victim or his parents either directly or indirectly for five years.