A MAN who sought to wreak “revenge” on his ex-wife’s family by falsely claiming his former brother-in-law had tried to run him over and attack him with a machete has been jailed.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Mothosir Ali, 37, tried to frame Atur Rehman after becoming “obsessed” with a divorce from his sister in 2015.

Prosecutor Mark Brookes told the court that in January last year, Ali was jailed for harassing the woman and breaching a restraining order preventing contact between the pair.

While in prison, he sent her a letter saying he wanted “revenge” against her family.

Mr Brookes then said that on the evening of June 12 last year, Ali made a 999 call to police stating that Mr Rehman had driven at him in an Audi car on Midland Road in Manningham.

He went on to accuse Mr Rehman of chasing him and threatening to kill him with a machete.

He told officers he knew it was his former brother-in-law behind the alleged attack as he had noted the registration number of the vehicle.

Officers arrested Mr Rehman at 3am the following morning from his home in Keighley, keeping him in custody for around 15 hours. He was released after telling police he had CCTV evidence that neither he nor his car had left the house at any point during the previous evening.

Ali was then arrested, but maintained that his account of events was accurate. When officers told him of the CCTV footage, he changed his story to say that he had not actually seen the car’s registration plate, but remained sure that Rehman had attacked him.

Ali, of Spring Gardens, Manningham, finally pleaded guilty to a charge of perverting the course of public justice ahead of a trial scheduled to take place last month.

MORE TOP STORIES

In mitigation, Angus McDonald said his client’s “unsophisticated deception” had been uncovered within a matter of hours. He said Ali had become “consumed by the divorce” while in custody, but had now moved on from the relationship with a new partner and new job.

Jailing him for 14 months, the Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, told Ali it was only the good fortune of having the CCTV footage that had saved Mr Rehman from his "wicked lies".

He said: “This was a determined act of revenge if there ever was one.

"The victim of your false allegations was a wholly innocent man. His detention must have been an absolute torment.

"You are a very determined man, Mr Ali, when you get the bit between your teeth to carry out your threats.

"Your previous convictions demonstrate a reckless disregard for the law.

"If you carry on in this way, the next sentence will be considerably greater."