13-year sentence for man who tied up victim during attempted robbery

A man has been jailed for 13 years for an attempted robbery in which the victim was tied up with his own shoelaces.

James Lamb (14/09/1993), of Peel Brow, Ramsbottom, was jailed for the offence on Monday (29 July) at Minshull Street Crown Court after earlier pleading guilty.

At around 1.30pm on Sunday 28 May 2023, Lamb entered a property on Brierley Street, Bury, where he waited for his victim in a communal area.

Once the man, a resident of the property, came back to the address, he was met by Lamb, who was wearing a balaclava and demanded money and drugs – something the victim did not have and was not involved in.

After tying up the man with shoelaces at knifepoint, Lamb searched the man’s room before leaving and taking his Mercedes. However, neighbours were able to free the man and run downstairs, at which point Lamb left the Mercedes and fled the scene.

He was later interviewed following a DNA match after officers analysed a table Lamb had leant on in the property. He was at that point being held on remand for a separate offence.

PC Ben Hubbard, from Bury’s Neighbourhood Crime Team, said: “This disgusting crime – targeting someone in their own home in what appears to be a case of mistaken identity – shows the complete lack of regards Lamb has for others.

“I am glad he is behind bars following a comprehensive investigation by the local Neighbourhood Crime Team. We will not allow these types of crimes to go unpunished.”