Members of an alleged gang of robbers partied with vodka, champagne, cannabis and prostitutes on the eve of an armed raid and shooting in which PC Beshenivsky died, a court heard yesterday.

Witness Francois Baron told Newcastle Crown Court he was invited to join the party at the house in Harehills Lane, Leeds, from where seven men are alleged to have driven to Bradford the following day to rob the Universal Express Travel Agents in Morley Street.

Mr Baron, 33, told the jury that he was shown a pistol, a machine gun and golden bullets at the house.

He also revealed the gang panicked after seeing on TV that PC Beshenivsky, 38, had died. He said Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah, Yusuf Abdillh Jamma and his brother, Mustaf Jamma shaved their heads and burned their clothes.

Mr Baron said that in November last year he was living at the house in Harehills Lane, which was rented to immigrants by Caradon Estates, who he worked for.

Faisal Razzaq, who he knew as Raz, and Raza Ul-Haq Aslam, who he knew as Haq, also worked for the company.

Mr Baron said he was introduced to Shah, who he knew as Tattoo Man because of a distinctive five stars tattoo.

On Thursday, November 17, last year Mr Ahmed, a manager for Caradon Estates, told him there was to be a party.

"He said some friends were coming from London and they were going to have prostitutes," said Mr Baron.

He said Raz told him there would be champagne, food, drink and ganja weed'.

He said during the evening, Tattoo Man, Piran Ditta Khan, who he knew as Uncle, and Raz's brother arrived, and Tattoo Man showed him the weapons.

Mr Baron said Tattoo Man took a black pistol with a silver silencer and a black machine gun from a bag and cleaned them. He said during the party, Raz was drinking champagne. Uncle, Raz's brother, Tattoo Man and Mr Ahmed were all present and everyone was drinking and smoking. He said they then ordered a taxi and went to a brothel.

Mr Baron said the following morning two Somalian men, one younger than the other, had arrived at the house.

He said he overheard Tattoo Man ask Uncle whether the mission was going to be successful and Uncle replied: "Minimum fifty grand, that the maximum target would be 100 grand."

He told the court how the seven men left the house in three cars - a white Jeep, a black Mercedes and a green Toyota - between 2 and 2.30pm on Friday, November 18, and saw them return in a hurry between 5 and 6pm.

Mr Baron said: "Everyone was running upstairs. I looked out of my room. I saw all of them in a room. I saw the guns lying on the bed."

He said he was told to let them know when the news came on TV. When they saw the reports that PC Teresa Milburn had been injured and PC Beshenivsky was dead they started to panic, he said.

Mr Baron said the two Somalians and Tattoo Man shaved their heads and the clothes they had been wearing were burned outside and put in a skip.

Some of the men started to leave the house. He said Uncle and Raz's brother left in the Mercedes.

He said the older Somalian got in the Jeep and drove to London and the younger Somalian was driven to Leeds train station in the Toyota by Raz.

The court has heard PC Beshenivsky, of Hainworth near Keighley, died instantly when she was shot in the heart outside the Universal Express office. PC Milburn was wounded in the shoulder.

The prosecution allege Shah fired the shots, but that all five defendants are guilty of murder because they were party to the planning of the robbery.

Khan and Mustaf Jamma have never been caught by police.

Yusuf Abdillh Jamma, 20, of Small Heath, Birmingham, Raza Ul-Haq Aslam, 25, of Kentish Town, London, and brothers Faisal Razzaq, 25, and Hassan Razzaq, 26, both of Forest Gate, London, plead not guilty to PC Sharon Beshenivsky's murder.

Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah, 25, of London, admits murder and robbery but denies the attempted murder of PC Teresa Milburn. He has also pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing a prohibited weapon and two charges of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Aslam and the Razzaq brothers deny robbery but Jamma has admitted that charge.

Aslam, the Razzaq brothers and Jamma also plead not guilty to firearms offences.

The trial continues.

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