A MUM had a gun fired inches from her head by an armed robber as he fled empty handed from her Yeadon shop.

The shot was so close to her face she saw the smoke burst out of the barrel of the firearm during the terrifying raid.

And before he left the robber issued a chilling warning that he 'would be back'.

Detectives said Tuesday's robbery could be linked to another armed raid which happened an hour earlier in Otley.

Mum-of-two Jaz Kaur yesterday told how she screamed as the man holding her at gunpoint pulled the trigger and she saw smoke burst from its barrel as she worked alone in the Fleet News newsagents in Yeadon High Street.

Mrs Kaur said she spotted the man pass the shop just minutes before he came in before 1pm on Tuesday.

He looked at Playstation magazines and quizzed her for ten minutes about organising a paper round for his 14-year-old son.

She said: "He looked decent enough but it was only when I saw he was wearing a black glove on one hand and was hanging on to a scrunched up plastic bag that I felt a cold shiver and suddenly thought he was going to attack me.

"He threw the bag at me and ordered me to fill it up. I said 'no' and he pointed a gun at me, I said 'no' again and he pulled the trigger.

"I screamed and saw smoke coming out of the gun but didn't hear a bang.

"He turned and ran away but stopped in the door and said 'I'll be back'."

Mrs Kaur, who was recovering from the ordeal at her Tyersal, Bradford, home yesterday, said she hardly slept a wink on Tuesday night because of nightmares.

She said: "When I woke the first thing I saw was his face, it was as though he was really there it's affected me badly but I know life goes on and I'll have to go back to work eventually.

"I still can't believe it really happened, I've never felt unsafe in the shop before but I'll never work there alone again."

The man police are searching for is white, 6ft, aged 35 to 40, of stocky build and wearing a dark coloured anorak and trousers.

It is believed that the shot fired was a blank.

Police believe the drama at Fleet News, which is run by Mrs Kaur and her 38-year-old husband Nirmal Singh for the past two years, could be linked to another attempted armed robbery at 11.50am at Tranmere