'I know some Salford lads who go through houses and throw babies against walls - they will go through yours'

A balaclava-clad thug attacked an old school friend outside a shop following a petty dispute before threatening him if he went to the police.

William Thompson, along with five other unknown men, followed the victim in a BMW van before punching and kicking him in the street in Bury.

As he tried to run away he was followed into a shop firstly by Thompson, 25, before he was repeatedly struck by the other masked men who were wielding a baseball bat and an axe.

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He suffered a deep wound to the back of his head, a bleed on the brain and is now suffering with hearing problems, Minshull Street Crown Court was told.

Events escalated following a dispute between the man’s cousin and Thompson’s girlfriend, prosecutor Andrew MacKintosh said. The victim spoke to Thompson, who he’d known from school, who told him ‘it’s just stuff to do with my girlfriend’.

Two days later the man’s cousin rang him to say there had been further trouble, and he later spoke with Thompson on WhatsApp.

“During that conversation the defendant became aggressive. He was saying he knew some Salford lads who go through houses and throw babies against walls and said they would likely go through his cousin’s house,” Mr MacKintosh said.

The victim told Thompson to stay away from his cousin but said to meet if he wanted to ‘chat’.

On December 7 last year, the man was getting dropped off by a friend when he saw a BMW van approaching him at speed before it stopped suddenly in Whitefield.

Two men wearing balaclavas got out, before two others got out of the side door. Each was wearing a balaclava.

He tried to run away but tripped and fell and was set upon by the men. They punched and kicked him