Four men were convicted yes-terday of murdering a couple in a bungled honour killing arson attack.

Abdullah Mohammed, 41, and his wife, Aysha Mohammed, 39, were overcome by smoke and fumes after petrol was poured through their letterbox and set alight.

Hisamuddin Ibrahim, 21, wan-ted to punish a man who was having an affair with his married sister and ordered three men to cause a blaze at his terraced home in the early hours while he was asleep. But the wrong address was targeted as the blaze was started at the home of the Mohammeds
in 175 London Road in Blackburn, Lancashire – instead of the intended address of 135 London Road.

A jury at Preston Crown Court took just 90 minutes following a six-week trial to convict Ibrahim, Habib Iqbal, Sadek Miah and Mohammed Miah (no relation) of their murders.

London Underground systems operator Ibrahim was said to be enraged when he discovered his sister, Hafija Gorji, 22, was committing adultery with a man called Mo Ibrahim (no relation). She was married to a cousin from India, while her sister was married to her husband’s brother.

A month before the fire, Hafija’s lover lied as he swore on the Koran in front of her relatives that the pair were just good friends. Just a week before the couple’s death,  Mr Ibrahim viewed a story on the BBC Crimewatch website about an unsolved fatal blaze in Eastbourne. The story concerned a night-time arson attack on a private dwelling in which two occupants had been killed.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service received a 999 call from Mr Mohammed at about 1.20 a.m. on October 21 last year. He told the operator there was a fire at his home and he could not breathe. The line then went dead.

The blaze spread through the hallway as smoke engulfed the upstairs of the terraced property. Mr Mohammed was found unconscious in his bedroom along with his wife and two of their three children.

He died the same night while his wife died a week later. Their 14-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son survived.

Preston Crown Court heard Ibrahim, on behalf of his family, asked his best friend Habib Iqbal and two other men, Mohammed Miah and Sadek Miah (no relation), to drive up from London overnight and carry out the attack.