A 20-year-old man who was involved in a terrifying armed raid on a Bradford mobile phone shop just 18 days after the fatal shooting of PC Sharon Beshenivsky has been locked up for five years.

Judge Roger Scott told Arman Nasir that one of the most disturbing features of the case was the fact that his only motive appeared to be greed.

Nasir, of Gladstone Street, Barkerend, went to the premises in Great Horton Road with an accomplice at about 6pm and, after being let in by sales assistant Ayaz Yaqoob, he produced the shotgun from a case and pointed it at him.

The robbery was caught on camera by the shop's CCTV system and prosecutor Heather Weir showed Judge Scott a series of photographs taken from the footage.

Nasir pleaded guilty last month to charges of robbery and possessing an imitation firearm with intent to commit an offence, but the Court heard that the weapon used in the raid had never been recovered.

Sentencing him at Bradford Crown Court yesterday, Judge Scott said the gun looked "absolutely terrifying" and he noted that it had been pointed at the assistant's head and stomach.

Mr Yaqoob said in a statement to police: "I was very frightened and scared and I just went blank."

Nasir's accomplice, who kept his face covered during the robbery, took money from the till and stole ten mobile phones.

During the robbery the accomplice kicked Mr Yaqoob before Nasir put the shotgun back in its case and the two men left the shop.

Nasir's barrister Sukhbir Bassra highlighted the fact that his client was "not one of the brightest people" and had in fact taken off his balaclava while inside the shop.

"The quality of the CCTV was such that the film was shown to the police in general and numerous persons identified this defendant by name," said Miss Weir.

Nasir was arrested at his home two days later and police recovered one of the stolen phones.

The court heard that in August last year Nasir had a custodial sentence for theft altered on appeal and at the time of the robbery he was subject to a community rehabilitation order.

Mr Bassra confirmed that the robbery had not been motivated by drugs or pressure from others.

"He says there were people committing this sort of crime and getting a lot of money," said Mr Bassra.

"He was short of money and he was invited by others who suggested he join in and commit this offence. Perhaps through greed he did.

"That doesn't excuse him, but in the real world it perhaps helps explain why he was committing minor offences prior to this... then all of a sudden we have him committing this sort of offence.

"His brothers can't begin to understand how somebody they knew so well got into this sort of trouble."

Judge Scott sentenced Nasir to five years in a young offenders' institution.

He said there were several aggravating features to the case including the fact that the offence was pre-planned because the two robbers had gone into the shop earlier that day.

He described the gun used in the robbery as "a fearsome-looking weapon".