A motorist caught on CCTV ploughing into a group of men in Manchester as they crossed the street in a revenge attack has been jailed for 20 years.

Horrifying footage captures the moment the men were sent sprawling as Aqab Hussain, 21, mowed down the group of men after a minor spat outside a club.

CCTV captured 21-year-old Hussain, of Gateshead Close, Rusholme , driving the wrong way down Princess Street in Manchester city centre before striking partially-sighted Michael Ward and two of his friends, Paul Hulme and Martin Harris, at the junction of John Dalton Street.

Hussain has now been jailed for 20 years after being found guilty of found counts of attempted murder.

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Mr Ward, then 28, from Bolton , was scooped up on the bonnet before being ‘deposited’ at the side of the road by the veering car. He was injured so severely that he was in intensive care for twenty days and spent around four months in a high dependency unit.

Meanwhile, Mr Hulme suffered fractures to his right leg after being 'flipped into the air', while Mr Harris suffered only minor injuries. A fourth member of Mr Ward's group, Thomas Mallanphy, narrowly escaped injury after stepping back from the road, Mr Hussain's Manchester Crown Court trial heard.

Hussain made no attempt to stop the car and fled the UK three days after the incident.

He was arrested just over seven weeks later by police officers at Manchester Airport as he returned from abroad.

The court heard the incident, on John Dalton Street in Manchester city centre in the early hours of August 21 last year, started in "horseplay" between the two groups of men over a baseball cap.

But it led to a fight and Hussain jumped in his car to take revenge.

Rachael Pavion, District Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service North West, said: "Aqab Hussain used his car as a weapon, he sought revenge by driving at speed deliberately at the four men with a clear intention to kill.

"After he struck his victims, he drove from the scene and showed complete disregard for the harm he had caused.

"One of the men received life changing head injuries; he was catapulted into the air after being carried on the bonnet of the vehicle for several metres, the two other men sustained substantial injuries.

"Eye witnesses, together with CCTV and forensic evidence helped to prove that he was the driver of the vehicle that had collided with the victims.

"The Crown Prosecution Service has worked closely alongside the police to piece all the evidence together and present a strong case to the jury, who have today accepted the prosecution case and delivered a guilty verdict.

"As a result, Aqab Hussain has been brought to justice and he must now take responsibility for his dangerous actions."

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