Five men found NOT guilty of conspiracy to murder after gang war exploded in horror attack

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Five men have been found not guilty of conspiracy to murder after a turf war between drugs gangs exploded on the streets. Prosecutors earlier alleged that a series of tit-for-tat attacks culminated in the horrific ambush of a 'street level' dealer whose car was rammed off the road in Rochdale.

Two men have been found guilty of conspiring to cause grievous bodily harm to a rival following the beating, however. The horror attack happened after a VW Golf was rammed and flipped three or four times before an ‘armed gang’ surrounded the victim, dazed following the crash.

He heard one of his attackers chillingly say 'we’ll start with the chainsaw', as well as the sound of a chainsaw being started. READ MORE: Man appears in court accused of the murder of 75-year-old as trial date set He was then ‘hacked and beaten’ with axes, a hatchet, a machete and a combat knife, before being doused in ammonia, a product used to prepare illegal drugs for sale, which caused ‘lasting damage' to his vision, the court previously heard.

The brutal attack was the final act in a long running ‘violent struggle over territory’ between two rival Rochdale outfits, it was said.