Following the second attack, on 20 March 2023, West Midlands Police launched a major investigation.

That included sending police officers to carry out enquiries around the Dudley Road mosque and at around 13:00 the following day one of those officers spotted Abbkr and recognised him from CCTV images.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Abbkr was arrested and a search was carried out at his home on Gillott Road, in Edgbaston.

There, police found a Volvic bottle containing a yellow liquid and a lighter in a rucksack.

The attack in Birmingham in March 2023 saw counter-terrorism officers brought in, but there was no evidence Abbkr was motivated by a particular ideology, and so the incidents were not treated as a terrorist attack.

In pictures shown to the jury, Abbkr could be seen inside the Dudley Road Mosque in Birmingham in the same room as Mr Rayaz, attending evening prayers.

The defendant, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, had admitted setting fire to both men, but claimed those he attacked were not human and therefore not expected to be hurt by fire.

Image source, West Midlands Police

If you're just joining us, here's a recap of what happened this morning at Birmingham Crown Court:

• Mohammed Abbkr is being sentenced after setting fire to two elderly mosque worshippers in London and Birmingham in February and March 2023
• He was found guilty of two counts of attempted murder in November, following a trial
• The families of the two victims said they had been left with scars, as well as anxiety and depression, fearing that they would be attacked again
• Doctors said their full recovery could take years
• A psychiatrist has said it is very clear Abbkr is suffering from schizophrenia, adding he believed he would not have committed the offences if it was not for the mental disorder
• The court heard Abbkr had seen hallucinations, including "djinn" - supernatural spirits - as well as believing people were performing magic on him and controlling his mind

Image source, Parliament

Shabana Mahmood, Birmingham Ladywood MP, had been in contact with Mr Rayaz's family after the attack and said both victims had suffered "heinous violence".

"I am incredibly proud of the way our local community in Birmingham pulled together to support Mr Rayaz, his family and each other, as well as supporting the police to do their job," she said following the trial.

"I hope this verdict gives both victims and their families justice and goes some way to help ease the pain and suffering they have been through."

Phil Mackie
Midlands Correspondent, reporting from court

In their victim impact statements this morning, Mr Rayaz's family paid tribute to the doctors who treated him at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The said he still bore the physical marks of the attack a year ago. They said doctors had said his recovery could take three years in all and even then the scars might remain.

Josh Sandiford
BBC News, West Midlands, reporting from court

The lawyer representing Abbkr said a short time ago that in this case the "interests of society" and the victims "coincide with what is best for the patient".

He said a hospital order would be safer for the public than a prison term, followed by treatment in the community.

He also said Abbkr "may never be released" from a secure hospital, "may never get better".

He also warned there were "significant risks" with sending him to prison, where he might not get sufficient mental health support.

It was noted there was no history of violence or drug use.

The defence counsel also said it was clear from the evidence of medical professionals that "everything is attributable to schizophrenia and the psychotic symptoms he was suffering at the time the offences were committed".

Dr Mirvis was also responsible for assessing Valdo Calocane, who killed three people in Nottingham in June.

In January, Calocane was told he would be detained in a high-security hospital indefinitely.

Judge Melbourne Inman KC has now adjourned the hearing for lunch.

We'll be continuing with a bit more of what Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Ross Mirvis has been saying and recap on what's been going on this morning.

There has been some discussion in court about the suitability of a so-called hybrid order as an alternative to a hospital order.

A hospital order would involve Abbkr's sentence being served in a secure hospital instead of prison.

A hybrid order would involve a period of hospital treatment, followed by a prison sentence, if he is deemed well enough.

Dr Mirvis has been talking about the treatment he would suggest for Abbkr.

He told the court Abbkr had "shown some response to medication" and suggested that continue with further drugs.

It is not clear how long Abbkr will need to be treated for and Dr Mirvis said: "The time that patients spend inside secure settings depends on many different factors."

But he said his treatment was likely to last a number of years.

More from the consultant psychiatrist who assessed Abbkr.

Ross Mirvis, a consultant forensic psychiatrist at Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, is now speaking.

He was employed at Ashworth high security hospital in Merseyside and was responsible for carrying out regular assessments of Abbkr.

Mr Mirvis said it was "very clear indeed" that his patient had schizophrenia, and had been suffering from hallucinations and displayed psychotic symptoms.

He said Abbkr had a "central belief that an old man who he met at a mosque in Liverpool called Mohammed Ali had performed magic on him" and had controlled his mind.

Abbkr also told him he was "seeing people that he thought Mohammed Ali was using to travel great distances".

Mr Mirvis said his patient had no history of violent episodes before the attacks and no criminal record.

He recommended continued treatment and therapy be considered in the sentence.

Mr Odowa's son said he was still receiving treatment at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

He said the scars, night-time panic attacks and hearing loss that he had been suffering from had affected his "wellbeing and independence greatly”.

There is “long-lasting anguish and distress” for his mother and sisters, he added.

Abbkr sprayed petrol on and set alight Hashi Odowa, 82, and Mohammed Rayaz, 71, during attacks in Ealing and Edgbaston, both of which were captured on CCTV.

The trial at Birmingham Crown Court heard Abbkr told Mr Odowa "I swear in the name of Allah, in the name of God, you will know me."

Both of his victims needed hospital treatment, with Mr Rayaz kept in for several weeks having suffered life-changing injuries.

The son of the first victim, 82-year-old Hashi Odowa, said his father used to be a "very confident fit and independent pensioner".

He said the attack had a "wide and terrible impact on him physically and psychologically" and described how his father had needed skin grafts on his left ear.

He said his father was still receiving hospital treatment and visiting and audiologist because of hearing loss.

Since the attack in Ealing, he said: "He has become anxious in public and social outings. As he feels people are staring at his severely scarred skin."

He said his father did not go out as much and only visited his mosque occasionally and with an escort, because he was afraid of further attacks.

His father also constantly wakes up in the night screaming about being set on fire and asking for help, he added.

Recalling the day of the attack he said: "Seeing my father's beautiful white beard all burnt off, eyes and lips swollen up, hands burnt and seeing him half naked with no clothes on the upper body was [a] traumatic and life changing moment."

He described going in an ambulance with paramedics and seeing concern on their faces and seeing his father's seriously injured in hospital.

He said his father's hands were swollen up so much that his watch could not be taken off.

And he said his father had been suffering from depression and PTSD since the attack.

Josh Sandiford
BBC News, West Midlands, reporting from court

Mohammed Ayaz, Mr Rayaz's oldest son, has been speaking in court too.

He said the grandchildren couldn't recognise his father when he was discharged from hospital.

He said his father had kept a beard for 20 years after completing a religious pilgrimage.

Image source, Helen Tipper / BBC

Abbkr, who came to the UK from Sudan in 2017 seeking asylum, was granted leave to remain in 2019.

He lived at Gillott Road, Edgbaston, not far from the site of the attack against Mr Rayaz.

Abbkr had admitted setting fire to both men, but denied attempting to murder them.

Adnaan Riaz, Mr Rayaz's son, is telling the court about the impact of the attack.

He said his father was very lucky to be alive and still finds it hard to recognise him, because of the facial injuries sustained in the attack in Birmingham.

Speaking about the attack, he said: "I'm still shocked and it all feels so surreal.

"Never a moment of the day goes past that I do not think about this heinous attack which runs through my head daily."

Mr Riaz said the attack had made his family anxious and cautious and he said: "We look over our shoulders when we go outside.

"I'm personally finding it hard to sleep and switch off."

Image source, Family

Family members will get the chance to have their victim impact statements heard before sentencing concludes.

But family members of Mr Rayaz spoke out following the conclusion of the trial in November.

Mohammed Ayaz, his eldest son, said seeing his father after the attack was "awful and unbearable".

"I felt so helpless and weak, no son or daughter should see their father or mother in that state," he said.

Another son, Adnaan Riaz, said the CCTV of his father being set on fire and his screams of pain would stay with him forever.

Members of the West London Islamic Centre attended by Mr Odowa described the incidents as "abhorrent and malicious attacks on two elders within our community".

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families," a spokesperson from the mosque said.