Friday, February 13, 2026
A man has been jailed for an assault committed outside the Vue Cinema in Blackburn.
Arafat Akhtar, 38, struck his victim with a metal bar in the cinema’s carpark.
Akhtar carried out the assault as he objected to a relationship that a person he knew was having with the victim.
His brother, Sufyaan Akhtar, 23, was also involved in the assault, punching the victim.
It happened around 8.45pm on 9th August last year, with the victim suffering an injury to his kneecap, a cut to his head which needed gluing, and bruising to one of his fingers.
The brothers were arrested on 13th August.
Arafat Akhtar, of Malham Gardens, Blackburn, appeared at Preston Crown Court for sentence on Wednesday after pleading guilty to Section 20 assault.
He was jailed for 21 months.
Sufyaan Akhtar, of Lancaster Place, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to assault causing actual bodily harm.
He was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to do 120 hours unpaid work in the community.
Both were given five-year restraining orders in relation to the victim.