An innocent man had to run ‘for his life’ after a pair of machete-wielding thugs chased him down a road in a case of mistaken identity.
Chilling CCTV footage shows Ben Collins and Samuel Nicholson, both 25, sprinting after the victim after luring him to a property at around 10pm.
When he arrived, Collins and Nicholson got out of a silver Ford Fiesta wearing hazmat suits, dark gloves and carrying machetes.
The victim bolted down the residential street in Eastfield, near Scarborough, in North Yorkshire, as the duo dressed in hazmat pursued him on foot with bladed weapons.
But, it was only during a police probe that the duo discovered the victim – a local man in his 20s – was an unintended target, York Crown Court heard.
Luckily, the victim was able to escape uninjured and with his life during the bizarre incident, which happened on April 19 earlier this year, and the duo drove off.
Communication between Collins and a third suspect, Jacob Jankowski, showed the two men were colluding and planning to lure the victim to a location to be attacked, a court heard.
A member of the public later located the two large machete-style knives in a black bin liner and two white hazmat suits stuffed into bushes in their front garden.
During the investigation, it was also discovered that Nicholson had bought the white suits and gloves in the days previous to the incident.
Chilling CCTV footage shows Ben Collins and Samuel Nicholson, both 25, sprinting after the victim after luring him to a property at around 10pm
The victim bolted down the residential street in Eastfield, near Scarborough, in North Yorkshire, as the duo dressed in hazmat pursued him on foot with bladed weapons
Ben Collins (left) and Samuel Nicholson (right), both of Scarborough, were sentenced to 28 months behind bars at York Crown Court
Pictured: One of the assailants chasing the victim with a machete style knife
Collins and Nicholson, both of Scarborough, were sentenced to 28 months behind bars at York Crown Court.
They both previously pleaded guilty on October 31 to possessing an offensive weapon, affray and attempted kidnap at the same court.
Twenty-one-year-old Jankowski pleaded guilty to encouraging and assisting the commission of an indictable-only offence.
He was sentenced to a Community Order and ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.
Detective Constable Alfie Thomlinson, from Scarborough and Ryedale CID, said: ‘This was an audacious attempt to cause significant harm to the victim.
‘However, their downfall wasn’t just the speed of the victim in running away, it was also luring the wrong person to the scene of their crime and leaving a trail of breadcrumb evidence which led to them soon being identified, arrested, charged and remanded into custody.
‘The street they lured their wrong victim to is a relatively quiet street in Eastfield with several young families living on it, but it was the monstrous and disgusting actions of these men that changed this and brought terror and violence to the local community.
‘This behaviour and actions simply will not be tolerated here in North Yorkshire and detectives will work hard to track perpetrators down and bring them to justice.’
