MASKED robbers put a gun to the head of a man in a street and threatened to shoot him if he didn’t hand over his cash and phone.

The 21-year-old victim of the violent robbery, who has diabetes, was then subjected to a brutal beating when he refused to give his attackers what they wanted.

The incident took place in Mannville Grove, off Oakworth Road, Keighley. The mother of the man who was attacked, who does not want to be identified, said her son had been at risk of going into a coma following the assault. She said: “I’m shocked that they’d do something like this in such a built up area where there are so many people about. It’s just frustrating that they feel they can get away with doing this.” She said her son had gone into the town centre to withdraw some cash on the night of April 30, intending to meet friends. However, he was feeling unwell so decided to return home for his insulin medication. While in Oakworth Road he spotted two men dressed in dark clothing and wearing balaclavas near Lund butchers, who he saw cross over to speak to a third man on a bike outside the nearby Wild’s Bakery.

It was after he had turned into Mannville Grove, at about 11pm, that the assault began.

His mother said the two men in balaclavas had apparently followed her son from Oakworth Road.

“They pulled him round aggressively and straight away put a gun to his head,” she said. “My son said it was a black, pistol-type handgun. They said ‘give us what’s in your pockets or we’ll shoot you.’

“He said ‘no’ and tried to fend them off so they knocked him to the ground and started stamping on him.”

She said that in order to get rid of the muggers her son relented, pulled out his wallet, and threw his money at them. But the thugs wanted more and demanded his phone.

When he refused they again threatened to shoot him, only to run off when a neighbouring resident came outside.

“I heard him come in and shout ‘mum’, then he was sick,” she said.

“He had a lot of marks, scratches and bruises because they’d really laid into him. The police advised that he should go to hospital, which was just as well because we were told the adrenaline from the attack had brought his sugar levels to a dangerous state, and he could have gone into a coma.” She said her son thought the muggers could have been in their early 20s and were possibly of Asian origin.

A police spokesman said: “Officers spoke to the victim earlier this week and have updated him on the progress of the investigation. Enquiries are ongoing to identify the suspects, who it’s believed may have been wearing balaclavas in the area immediately prior to the incident.”

Anyone who can assist should call Bradford District CID on 101, quoting crime reference 13170194443 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.