TWO would-be gangsters caught driving round Bradford with an 'armed robbery kit' have been given prison sentences totalling almost 18 years.

Haroon Hussain and Zeshan Iqbal had a car full of equipment for crime, including a shotgun and cartridges, when they were stopped in a Volkswagen Passat in Manchester Road on July 27 last year.

They told the police they had "been for a little drive".

The pair, who were plotting raids on victims in their homes in the Bradford area, had fitted a tracker device to one householder's car and smashed a window at his home in the dead of night.

Both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery on the day they were to stand trial at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.

Hussain, 26, of Branksome Crescent, Heaton, Bradford, was jailed for nine years and seven months.

Iqbal, also 26, of Bridgewater Road, Heaton, was imprisoned for eight years.

Judge Robert Bartfield told them: "You thought you were going to be a pair of gangsters."

The court heard that when Hussain was stopped at the wheel of the Passat, a routine check revealed he had no driving licence.

Prosecutor Jayne Beckett said more police officers were drafted in and the vehicle was searched.

It contained black balaclava masks with the men's DNA on them, gloves, a screwdriver, scissors, a kitchen knife, a crowbar, duct tape and a fuel siphoning kit.

A set of false registration plates was seized from the boot, along with a holdall containing a shotgun and cartridges.

An analysis of the men's phones revealed that they and others were plotting a series of robberies on householders in the area.

One intended victim in Pudsey discovered that a tracker device had been fitted to his car.

At 4am on July 22, he heard a window smashing at his home and saw two figures standing outside.

Mrs Beckett said the robbery was aborted when the house lights were turned on.

Another potential robbery target called the police twice when he saw the Passat parked near his home and two men examining his car.

Mrs Beckett said phone conversations showed that Hussain bought a vehicle tracker for £350 and was thinking of "doing a job"

He had carried out internet searches about shotguns, door breakers and sledgehammers.

Bunty Batra, barrister for Hussain, said he came from a very respectable family and the offence was wholly out of character.

He and Iqbal were not serious players in the criminal world.

"It was an act of bravado committed at a time of real desperation in this young man's life," Mr Batra said.

"He has fallen off the rails and got embroiled in something wholly out of his league and totally stupid."

Shufqat Khan, for Iqbal, said he joined the conspiracy in its final month.

His good character was lost and his elderly parents were devastated.

Judge Bartfield said: "The two of you were planning a robbery in which serious violence might be used and, conceivably a firearm would be used."

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