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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Tom Duffy

Liverpool gangster not cooperating with police after being 'slashed' in jail

A Liverpool criminal who suffered a neck wound after being attacked in prison chose not to cooperate with police.

Richard Caswell was attacked at HMP Manchester on January 10.

A source told the ECHO Caswell was 'slashed up' by a group of men who burst into his cell.

READ MORE: Handwritten note in window leads police to 'Class A' haul

Last month the prison service confirmed the attack, and said that GMP had been aware of the incident.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “The incident has been referred to police. It would be inappropriate to comment further."

However the ECHO now understands that Caswell chose not to pursue the complaint with GMP.

Prison healthcare staff treated Caswell's wound after the attack and he did not require hospital treatment.

The incident at Strangeways last month generated a large amount of speculation in the underworld as to who might have organised the attack.

Trusted sources have told the ECHO the individuals who attacked Caswell were from Manchester.

Caswell has been on remand at Strangeways prison since he was charged with a number of serious offences in 2020. Caswell entered guilty pleas last November.

Originally from north Liverpool, Caswell is known as 'Will Young' in criminal circles due to his similarity to the famous pop star.

He was a member of a Liverpool gang that was behind a spate of massive car bombs across the city from 2003 to 2004.

The crew famously fell out a family who owned bars and clubs in the city. But when police began to target the criminals they decided to let car bombs off outside police stations.

This led to a huge police operation codenamed Thornapple, as the force faced a race against time to target the gang.

At one point residents living near to police stations were warned to be vigilant due to the threat posed by the gang.

Caswell, a junior member of a gang controlled by notorious individuals, was later linked by police to three explosions including a massive car bomb outside Tuebrook police station.

He was arrested after DNA linked him to the attacks, and a haul of firearms was also discovered at the house he was living in at Newman Street, Sandhills.

Caswell pleaded guilty to two charges of conspiring with unknown people to cause explosions, which could endanger life and damage property.

He also pleaded guilty to possessing three firearms, a prohibited weapon and ammunition.

Judge John Roberts, who jailed Caswell for 17 years in 2005, said: "Innocent bystanders could have been killed or mutilated by those bombs. They were offences against the community."

Some of Caswell's criminal associated tried to free him from HMP Liverpool, driving a stolen cherrypicker up against a prison wall.

But prison staff were alerted and the plot failed.

In 2011 Hull Crown Court heard how Caswell attacked another prisoner at HMP Full Sutton prison. Caswell punched Wayne Walters during a fracas in the prison kitchen. A jury found Caswell guilty of actual bodily harm and he was handed an extra ten months.

Caswell pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine, conspiracy to possess criminal property and conspiracy to commit robbery. He entered the pleas on November 10 last year and will be sentenced later this year.

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