Faces of 79 people jailed in Liverpool in February

Judges sentenced a son who killed his own dad in a ferocious street attack and a career criminal who stabbed a man in the neck

Courts heard about gun thugs linked to a submachine gun, a revolver, a sniper rifle and a sawn-off shotgun.

READ MORE: Everton fan threw Lucozade bottle at Aston Villa's Matty Cash

Judges had to sentence drug dealers who spread misery across the UK and cowardly men who battered vulnerable women.

Meanwhile, disturbing cases included unrepentant child rapists and twisted paedophiles.

Here is an overview of some of the most serious cases to have concluded this past month.

Kirk Davies

Kirk Davies rammed into a taxi, dragged his ex-girlfriend out, forced her into a stolen car and then beat her during a police chase.

The 19-year-old followed the taxi, after spotting his former partner and her friends inside, in the early hours of September 5 last year.

The yob forced the taxi off the road in a stolen car on false number plates, then drove into it in Fazakerley, forcing the driver to stop.

Davies, of Middle Way, Croxteth, forced his ex into his car, and reached speeds of up to 100mph as she "feared for her life".

He repeatedly punched her to the head, pulled her hair and bit her, before threatening to hit her with a hammer.

The teen was spotted by police and chased down Longmoor Lane until he crashed into a wall, then drove off.

Davies, who admitted assault causing actual bodily harm and dangerous driving, was locked up for 22 months.

James Birch

Taxi driver James Birch organised cocaine and heroin trafficking in the Netherlands after deciding lockdown measures made it too risky to operate in the UK.

But the 35-year-old was still caught out by police, after messages detailing his criminal activity were found on the hacked EncroChat secret messaging service.

Birch was said to have used the handle "OctoBourne" throughout 2020 while working as a private hire taxi driver and organising for the transport of Class A drugs.

EncroChat messages revealed he considered it too "risky", but he then facilitated the supply of up to 20 kilos of heroin from one associate in Holland to another.

Police raided his home in Brookbridge Road, Tuebrook on December 15, 2021 and seized five mobile phones.

Birch admitted money laundering and assisting or inducing the commission of an offence abroad.

He was jailed for six years.

David Houghton

David Houghton burgled a hospital and a football club.

He struck at Vauxhall Motors in Ellesmere Port and entered the referee's changing room while a match was in progress.

The 56-year-old, from Ellesmere Port, stole a bag which contained £20 cash and a mobile phone on December 19, 2021, before another raid.

He broke into a village hall in Capenhurst Lane -the same road he lived on -and took two hoovers worth around £170, plus other items.

On January 6, he was challenged by the owner of a van in Tarvin after he was seen trying to gain access to it.

Houghton returned to Vauxhall Motors on January 22 and stole bottles of vodka and whiskey.

A day later he struck at Ellesmere Port Hospital, where he stole cash, coffee, tea bags and sugar.

Houghton, who admitted four counts of burglary and one count of vehicle interference, was jailed for 12 months.

Kaisaar Mahmood

A mum-of-two was stalked by "obsessed" work colleague Kaisaar Mahmood who created "disturbing" fantasies about her.

The victim, who the ECHO has chosen not to name, was in a happy long term relationship with her partner of 15 years.

But "delusional" Mahmood accused her of "sexually harassing him" and "leading him on", despite the fact she had no romantic interest in him whatsoever.

The 44-year-old chemical engineer involved other colleagues in his frightening "obsession", falsely telling them the woman was being abused by her boyfriend and even that she was going blind.

Mahmood, of Fenham Drive, Penketh, Warrington, who admitted stalking between May 2019 and March 2021, had two previous convictions for harassment, in 2005 and 2010, both relating to a woman he perceived as his girlfriend.

He was jailed for 13 months.

Dean McHale

Dean McHale broke into a Liverpool home and stole a mobile phone and bank cards.

The 39-year-old, of no fixed address, entered a home in Vandyke Street in Toxteth on June 9 last year.

His crime spree carried on when he was found to be handling stolen items from a home in Halkyn Avenue, Sefton Park, including laptops, mobile phone and more bank cards.

McHale admitted burglary, fraud and handling stolen goods.

He was jailed for three years.

Robert Brazendale

A gangland middle-man handed over weapons three times in less than 24 hours as he played a key role in a prolific gun supply network.

Robert Brazendale delivered an AK-47 assault rifle to one buyer, machine guns to a second, and delivered another AK-47 in a third deal on April 15, 2020.

The former electrician, 34, turned EncroChat user, also hid guns and ammunition in the back garden of his bungalow in Selworthy Drive, Warrington.

Prosecutors branded Brazendale a "quartermaster" and "essential cog in a machine running guns to other serious organised crime groups".

When raids uncovered some of the guns, he was among those questioned -but he then fled to Spain, sparking an international manhunt.

That ended in Estepona, Malaga, in October 2020 where he was arrested by the National Crime Agency and Spanish National Police.

Brazendale, who admitted conspiring to transfer prohibited firearms, was jailed for 11 years and three months.

Liam Wallace-Clark

Liam Wallace-Clark battered his ex-girlfriend while she was holding their baby in her arms.

The career criminal had only met his 13-month-old daughter for the first time that day because he had been in prison.

But he repeatedly punched his former partner in the face, after she tried to call police due to his intimidating behaviour.

The 33-year-old then "cornered" her on a couch and said: "If you're sending me to jail I might as well kill you."

He attacked the woman, who the ECHO chose not to name, at her Southport home, on Wednesday, October 7, 2020.

Wallace-Clark, of Wulfstan Street, London, but from Whitefield, Bury, admitted assault causing actual bodily harm against his ex-partner, common assault against her friend who tried to intervene to stop him, and breach of bail.

He was jailed for 59 weeks in total -around 13 and a half months.

Christopher Welsh

Christopher Welsh smashed a broken wine bottle into a woman's face after he took a cocktail of drink and drugs.

Security officer Christopher Welsh befriended a group of students who lived at a flat in Rumford Place in Liverpool city centre.

He was at the property the students shared when he took cannabis and also a sleeping pill, plus copious amounts of alcohol.

But in the early hours of the morning on August 23, 2020, he inexplicably attacked one of the women, hitting Anna Chapel over the head with a wine bottle with such force it broke, before he attacked her with the neck of the broken bottle, inflicting permanent facial scars.

Welsh, 41, of Marina Drive, Upton, Chester, admitted unlawful wounding and common assault.

He was jailed for two years.

Edward Warde

Edward Warde stole more than £10,000 of cigarettes in a spree across more than 20 shops by distracting staff then fleeing in a getaway car on false plates..

But detectives traced the 35-year-old to his address in Warrington Road in Runcorn using automatic number plate recognition data and CCTV footage.

Warde's spree lasted from September 29 to October 26 last year, when he targeted 24 shops around Cheshire, stealing £11,733 of tobacco products in total.

During one incident in Winsford, Warde also assaulted a shop worker who tried to stop him from fleeing.

He was jailed for three years.

John Newton

A girl tried to kill herself after she was twice raped by unrepentant paedophile John Newton.

He attacked his victim when she was aged between nine and 11 in historic sex offences that have now come to light.

The 56-year-old, of Wood Street, Birkenhead, also made the child perform sex acts on him and watch pornography.

Newton denied any wrongdoing, which forced the now adult woman to give evidence in a harrowing trial.

What to do if you're a victim of a sex crime

But the delivery driver was unanimously found guilty of nine sexual offences and a judge said he was "in denial".

Newton was found guilty of two counts of rape of a child under 13, three counts of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, and both causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and causing a child to watch sexual activity.

He was jailed for 12 years with an extended one year on licence.

Thomas Brown

Thomas Brown who vowed "to make St Helens proud" before stabbing a man in the neck was found guilty of murder.

The drug addict turned his bedroom into a bloodbath when he knifed 33-year-old Lee Andrew in his right jugular vein.

Andrew fled as he ran across the road to a YMCA reception in a forlorn bid to get help, at around 11pm, on August 2 last year.

Career criminal Brown was seen to "nonchalantly" walk away -his hands covered in blood -as his victim was dying in the street.

After he was arrested on August 3, the 42-year-old, of North Road, told police: "The beast got dealt with and it was self-defence."

He suggested Andrew was bullying him and "came at him" with a knife, so he grabbed a second knife to defend himself.

Brown even claimed "more should have been done" for Andrew and questioned why YMCA staff on night duty didn't provide first aid.

But a jury took just two hours of deliberation to unanimously find him guilty of murder, after a six-day trial.

Brown was jailed for life with a minimum of 18 years.

Anthony McDonald

Anthony McDonald was caught in a hotel after breaking in and ransacking an office.

He was busted after grabbing wine and a cash box from Hotel Indigo in Liverpool city centre on November 16 last year.

McDonald and an accomplice were...