HERE is our second round-up of criminals who will be spending Christmas in jail including a murderer and a rapist who filmed the attack on his sleeping victim and a gang who beat a man unconscious down a dark alley in Worcester.

This month, to coincide with the festive period, we are providing you with a selection of some of the criminals who will be spending Christmas and New Year inside.

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic prisoners can expect a tougher time in jail than before the virus struck with prisoners spending up to 23 hours a day in their cells and without many of the privileges accorded to them in ordinary circumstances to reduce transmission.

Martin Coffey was one of a gang of hooded attackers who punched and kicked a man unconscious down a dark alley in Worcester then 'gloated' about what they had done.

Four men and a youth took part in the ‘ferocious’ attack in Black Horse Walk in Lowesmoor, Worcester and left the scene celebrating, one of the men even returning to pick the victim’s pocket on March 26 last year.

Only 26-year-old Coffey of Maple Avenue, Worcester has so far been sentenced at Worcester Crown Court, receiving an immediate jail sentence.

His co-defendant Asfandyar Kiani, 20, of Ludstock Close, Worcester, did not attend the hearing, Coffey suggesting to his barrister that his co-defendant was probably still in bed even though it was lunchtime. Kiani had previously claimed he was self-isolating with Covid-19. A warrant not backed for bail was issued for his arrest.

Judge Cartwright sentenced Coffey to 22 months in prison - 21 months for the attack and a month for two failures to surrender to custody.

Adam Mason was handed a life sentence, jailed for a minimum of 20 years at Worcester Crown Court in July following the murder of 80-year-old Desmond Wooding. Mason, 33, of Plough Lane, Tibberton stabbed Mr Wooding 11 times in the lounge of his bungalow in Vines Lane on June 23 last year.

The killer’s uncle, Mark Mason, who drove him from the scene was jailed for two years for assisting an offender. One of the wounds was 8cm deep, piercing Mr Wooding’s heart and lungs.

The motive for the murder was said by the prosecution to be the way Mr Wooding had treated his late wife Maureen when she was dying of cancer. Maureen was the sister of Colin Mason, Adam Mason’s grandfather.

Both men were convicted by a majority decision (10-2) of the jury following a three week trial which ended in March.

The prosecution was led by Adrian Keeling QC who argued that Adam Mason carried out the murder in a 20 minute window after he left the pub at 8.42pm.

No forensic evidence linking Adam Mason to the scene was found in the bungalow. However, DNA that was ‘430,000 times more likely to belong to Mr Wooding than anyone else’ was found on Adam Mason’s dog lead.

James Boyles, 69, who raped the same victim on a number of occasions while she was sleeping and filmed the assaults, has had his sentence, imposed at Worcester Crown Court, increased this month following the intervention of Solicitor General, Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP.

When police searched his computer, they found that Boyles had filmed another woman while she slept using a hidden camera. Police also found that Boyles had downloaded and made several indecent images of children.

Boyles was convicted of 15 sexual offences and was sentenced to four years imprisonment and given a sexual harm prevention order on September 8 this year at Worcester Crown Court as reported in the Worcester News at the time.

Following a referral to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General, on December 1 the sentence was found to be unduly lenient and has been increased to six years imprisonment.

Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General said: "The sickening behaviour of the offender should be met with the full force of the law. The Court of Appeal has rightly increased his sentence."

We reported how the pensioner also called child abuse ‘art’ and doctored photos to make it look like a man was raping a little girl.

The attacks were recorded by Boyles and saved on his computer, the vile videos only found when police investigated intelligence that indecent images of children had been downloaded at the address.

The other charges he admitted included voyeurism against both the first victim and a second, also an adult female, using secret cameras to record them.

The pensioner, previously of Honeybourne and Broadway, also made indecent ‘pseudo photographs’ of a child, Photoshopping a man’s genitals onto an image of a child to make it look like he was having sex with the girl, aged four, calling the file ‘sleeping princess’.

Boyles said of the sexual attacks on the sleeping woman: “I would not call it rape.”

Tobi Hurding admitted wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.

The 32-year-old of Allcroft Road, Birmingham, known as ‘Junior, had been in company with victim Mark Hughes and another man, walking in the direction of Park Street, Worcester on May 25 this year when the attack happened. He was jailed for six years in September.

Gary Booth was was sent to jail by Judge Nicholas Cole at Worcester Crown Court on after his dog, Shadow, bit a schoolgirl in Evesham High Street while she was walking home. A decision has yet to be made about whether the dog will be destroyed.

The 21-year-old now of Charleville Road, Birmingham, is also due to be considered for a criminal behaviour order which police can seek from the courts to bring Booth's behaviour under a tighter leash when he is finally released from prison.

Booth's dog bit a 12-year-old girl in Evesham on April 2 last year as she was on her way home from school. The defendant had already admitted being the owner of a dog that was dangerously out of control, aggravated vehicle taking on November 24 last year and breach of a restraining order against a former partner between April 13 and 20 this year.

Judge Cole, sentencing, said the dog had been on a lead 'but jumped and bit her arm'.

"I have seen the photographs - there was extensive bleeding. The dog bit through her blazer or jacket causing a significant puncture wound. She had to go to hospital," said the judge.

The girl has been left with a three inch scar. The judge jailed him for 16 months. A further hearing will take place on January 26 next year to determine whether Booth will be subject to a criminal behaviour order and also to determine whether the dog will be a subject to a destruction order (put down) or a contingent destruction order which means the dog will not be destroyed but will have to be subject to certain restrictions.

This could include, for example, the dog being muzzled in public. Booth was also banned from driving for 12 months.