TWO men who were part of a gang who stormed into a Bradford pub in an “appalling” act of violence have been jailed.

Tobias Conway-Graham, 26, was described as the “leader” of the attack, which ended with a sawn-off shotgun being fired into the ceiling of the bar.

Bradford Crown Court heard that the dispute had been caused by a family feud that Conway-Graham had subsequently tried to settle by travelling up to the city from his home in Telford, Shropshire.

Prosecutor David Ward told the court that just after midnight on August 19 last year, a group of men gathered outside the Sycamores pub in Norman Lane, Eccleshill.

Conway-Graham and Joshua Czener, 27, were at the front of the group, with Czener having driven at least five men to the scene in a 4x4 vehicle.

The gang burst into the pub with Conway-Graham armed with a baseball bat. As they entered, he was said to have shouted the name of a family whose members he was looking for.

The pub’s DJ, Lee Smith, who had just finished his set and was in the bar having a drink, replied: “Only her, and you’re not going to touch her”, referring to a woman who was in the pub at the time.

A fight between Conway-Graham and Mr Smith ensued, during which the latter was knocked down and “given a beating” by gang members.

He managed to knock the bat out of Conway-Graham’s grasp, but it was then picked up by Czener.

Mr Ward said that as the fight continued, an unidentified man wearing a motorbike helmet came into the pub and discharged the shotgun into the ceiling.

The group then dispersed, before staff called the police.

Conway-Graham and Czener, of Clara Road, Bradford, were arrested, with the former admitting he had gone to the pub for a “straightener”, which the court heard was his description of a fight with someone who had been “antagonising his family”.

Czener claimed he had been acting as a “peacemaker”, with both men denying any involvement with the firearm.

Both pleaded guilty to charges of violent disorder and the possession of an offensive weapon.

The defendants, both fathers to eight-month-old children, were said to be remorseful for their actions in the incident, in which the court heard no serious injuries had been caused.

Judge Jonathan Rose said that while the prosecution could not prove any connection between the two defendants and the firearm, their pleas indicated that “it wasn’t happenchance that the gun was there”.

He said: “This was an appalling piece of violence in a public house in this city.

“You, Conway-Graham, were the cause of that violence.”

Judge Rose added that Conway-Graham had gathered a group of people together to “engage in violence” in order to solve a family dispute, telling him: “It is wholly unacceptable and incomprehensible why you should do so.

“You were responsible, you were the leader of that.”

He told Czener: “This was not your fight, but you were happy to go along with the violence.”

After receiving a one-third reduction in sentence for his early guilty plea, Conway-Graham was jailed for 32 months.

Czener, who only entered guilty pleas on the day of his trial yesterday, was locked up for three years.