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45p FRIDAY AUGUST 5 2011 VOICE OF THE WESTCOUNTRY SINCE 1860 CORNWALL

Opinion 10 UK and World news 14 Weather 17 TV and radio 42 Puzzles 44 Business 46 Family announcements 49 Classified advertisements 51 Sport 56

Tr a p p e dfor tenhours inmower

BY JENNA RICHARDS

Two men have been sentencedto a total of 57 years behindbars for the attempted murderof a Newton Abbot restaurantow n e r.

Mohammed Abul Kahir Ali,40, of Brokenbury Street,London, was given 27 years forthe attack which left thevictim Nasim Ahmed, 42, witha fractured skull.

Ali’s uncle, 57-year-oldRoger Khan, of Dacre ParkRoad, London, was given 30years in jail after the courtheard he had previous con-victions for robbery with a

firearm and stabbed two in-mates while serving time forthe offence.

Sentencing the pair atExeter Crown Court, JudgeGraham Cottle said: “This waseffectively an execution. Theconsequences for Mr Ahmedand his family were, and con-tinue to be, considerable.”

Ali and Khan were foundguilty on Wednesday after afour-week trial. Judge Cottlesaid the attack was premed-itated and planned.

He described how the twodefendants travelled fromLondon to Newton Abbot,armed themselves with athree-foot metal pole and aknife, parked nearby andwaited for Mr Ahmed toreturn from work at the Nazcurry house in Teignmouthbefore they “came out of thed a rk n e s s ” and launched theattack. As the pair were led

Death plotpair jailedfor 57 yearsafter attack

A downpour as the Honiton Show opened yesterday failed to damper spirits. See PAGE 3

Horse breeder suffers horrific injuries

EXCLUSIVEBY ELEANOR GASKARTH

A former international eventrider has been critically in-jured after becoming trappedunderneath his ride-on mowerfor ten hours – while theve h i cl e ’s leaking fuel causedhorrific burns to his legs.

Hendrik Wiegersma wascutting grass at his farm inHighampton near Hather-leigh, West Devon, when theequipment rolled down abank, pinning him beneath it.

The 62-year-old, who runs asuccessful stabling business,suffered multiple injuries in-cluding a broken hip, punc-tured lung and kidneydama g e.

But worse was to come asthe mower’s petrol seepedonto his body, causing “s eve rechemical burns” to his legs.

Mr Wiegersma’s familywere unaware he was outmowing and so did not raisethe alarm until ten hours afterthe accident.

Emergency crews werecalled to the 170-acre WarrenFarm just after 4am onSunday. The family’s own fork- Turn to PAGE 5 Turn to PAGE 9

lift was used in addition to thef i re f i g h t e r ’s hydraulic equip-ment to painstakingly winchthe mower from Mr Wiegermawithout causing furtherdama g e.

He was airlifted to the RoyalDevon and Exeter Hospital viaa search and rescue helicopterfrom RMB Chivenor, thenlater transferred to Bristol’sFrenchay Hospital where

there is a specialist burnsunit.

Mr Wiegersma remains inintensive care but hasregained consciousness and isstable. His family say he willrequire extensive skin graftsto try to repair the damage tohis legs.

The father-of-two previouslyrepresented Great Britain at

Horses ‘I love stand-up’Equestrian news fromacross the region

Touring is best sayscomic Jimmy Carr

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‘The consequencesfor Mr Ahmed...were considerable’

Judge Graham Cottle

‘It looks like it isgoing to be a longjob getting better’

Vicki Telesford, family member

Special offer2-for-1 cream teasor tea and cakePAGE 9

PICTURE: RICHARD AUSTIN