Two brothers who ran a large scale "chop shop" for stolen cars have both been jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Bradford Crown Court was told that Ishtiaq Zahir, 25, and his 26-year-old brother Israr ran the car-ringing scam from their breakers yard in Manningham, Bradford, which processed around £400,000 worth of stolen vehicles.

Prosecutor Jonathon Sandiford said the cars, most of which had been taken in hanoi-style burglaries, were sold on after their identities had been changed or were dismantled for parts.

Judge Peter Benson told the pair, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods, that he was satisfied they had played equal parts in the setting up and running of the organisation.

A third brother, Imran Zahir, 30, was also jailed after he admitted that he had tried to throw police "off the scent" of his brothers by lying to police. He denied any involvement in the conspiracy but pleaded guilty to charges of receiving stolen goods, theft and assisting an offender.

Two other defendants who admitted their part in the conspiracy, Christian North, 31, of Bartle Gill Drive, Baildon, and Jangeer Hussain, 30, of Silverdale Road, West Bowling were given custodial sentences.

North, a recovering heroin user who had been involved in the stripping down of the cars, was sentenced nine months and Hussain, who had helped in the running of the scam, was locked up for two years.

The court was told that when police raided the premises of Manningham Breakers at Grosvenor Works in 2002 they seized six stolen cars and 41 parts from other stolen vehicles. Mr Sandiford said one car had been taken from a taxi driver at knife-point.

When police then raided the house the three brothers lived in at Springbank Place, Manningham, they found £24,000 in cash which Mr Sandiford said was consistent with them being them being the beneficiaries of a dishonest enterprise.

But Israr and Ishtiaq initially denied any involvement in the conspiracy which had been going on for 17 months and said that although they owned the units at Grosvenor Works they had rented them out to other people. Imran gave the police forged tenancy agreements.

Judge Benson said: "This was an operation on a very, very, substantial scale and the activities of those involved in this conspiracy provide considerable encouragement to those who would go out and burgle houses because they provide the market for stolen vehicles and that type of burglary has been a scourge in this part of the country for a number of years."

Two other men who have pleaded guilty to their part in the same conspiracy had their sentences adjourned for reports. David Worsnop, 27, of Lilian Street, Dudley Hill, Bradford, and Abubaker Amin, 21, of Southfield Square, Mannigham, Bradford, will be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court next month.