Pair jailed for assaulting man after argument over cigarettes

Two men are facing a total of ten years in jail after assaulting another man in a row over cigarettes.

35-year-old Ronald Coombes and 33-year-old Paul Doherty, both from Handsworth Wood, locked their victim in a room in his home. They beat him and strangled him with a scarf after he failed to bring the pair cigarettes as promised.

They then searched his belongings taking his mobile phone, iPod and wallet. They then forced him to reveal his PIN number, with Doherty then going to an ATM and emptying the victim's bank account while Coombes kept him imprisoned.

During the ordeal, Coombes became distracted and the 26-year-old man took his opportunity to escape. He ran almost four miles to Birmingham Central Police Station and reported the crime in the early hours of Saturday 14 February.

Both men were arrested the next day, but denied the offence and were remanded while a trial date was set.

They were both sentenced to five years each at Birmingham Crown Court last week.