A Rawtenstall man “utterly terrified” a woman whose house he entered during the night and threatened her, before going on to commit a knifepoint robbery against a teenager while on bail for the first offence.

Ishtiaq Ahmed, 38, entered the home of his first victim shortly before 3am on May 26, 2022. She woke up to find a man whose voice she recognised in her room wearing a face covering.

Preston Crown Court heard she was pulled from the bed and Ahmed put his arm around her neck, telling her to ‘give him the gold’ and ‘the driver’s outside, give me everything you’ve got.’

Ahmed eventually ran out of the house, at which point the defendant looked out of the bedroom window and saw the engine in her car was running.

She tried to call the police on a landline phone which showed as unavailable, with it later turning out the lines had been cut by Ahmed, who also ransacked the kitchen and damaged several CCTV cameras in and around the house.

The car, a Mercedes-Benz, and a purse were taken from the house. Whilst giving her statement to the police, she received notifications on her phone from her bank that one of her cards had been used at a Shell garage.

When the stolen car was returned to the victim, a large kitchen knife was found in the door pocket. The knife and the steering wheel of the car were analysed by forensics experts, and DNA from Ahmed was found on both.

Following this offence, on Christmas Day 2023, a 16-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, was walking to work in Rawtenstall when they stopped at a cash machine shortly before 3pm.

When they put their card in the machine, they were approached from behind by Ahmed, who put his left arm around the teenager and held a knife to him with his right hand.

He said ‘take all your money out and give it to me’ and told the terrified youngster he would stab them.

They withdrew £30 but Ahmed demanded more and told the victim to ‘call their mum’ and ask her to deposit more money into the account.

The incident was witnessed by a family who were walking through the town and they informed police. When they arrived, they chased the defendant who threw the knife away as he ran.

When he was caught up and searched, officers found £70 in cash and a European Health Insurance Card belonging to the victim.

In a statement, the victim said the contents of their wallet and bank account were a result of gifts and extra work over Christmas.

They added they were now reluctant to leave the house to socialise and they had suffered from nightmares as a result of the incident.

Ahmed gave a no comment interview to police.

Mitigating, Thomas Worsfold said his client had demonstrated genuine remorse and had started to address the causes of his behaviour while in custody.

Sentencing, Judge Simon Medland said: “In May 2022 you committed a well-planned and well-executed burglary of a woman in her home, where you perceived items of great value might have been.

“You cut telephone wires and disabled CCTV cameras, threatening her in her own home, and you utterly terrified her by doing so.

“It was whilst you were subject to bail you committed the robbery offence.

“There, using a knife, you robbed a young person of a substantial amount of money, carried out with arrogance and determination.

“In my judgement, nothing but a very substantial sentence could possibly be justified for these offences.”

Ahmed, of Burnley Road, Rawtenstall, pleaded guilty to offences of burglary, fraud by false representation, theft, robbery, and possession of a knife.

Judge Medland sentenced Ahmed to nine years and six months in prison.