A wheelchair-bound man has been cleared of taking part in a violent armed robbery after convincing the jury he was too disabled to be one of the gang.

Part of Mariusz Wolkowicz’s defence case was to show the courtroom his legs to prove he could not walk unaided.

Yesterday, he was found not guilty of robbery, possession of an imitation firearm and taking a van without authority.

He was due to be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court today for an offence of attempted burglary that he had already admitted.

Wolkowicz, 38, of Thornbury Drive, Thornbury, Bradford, remained in custody overnight after the verdicts.

During his trial, it was alleged that he was one of three masked robbers who beat, stripped and bound two Polish couriers delivering parcels in the UK.

Jaroslaw Wilk and Jan Lorak were lured to an empty house in Glenbrook Drive, Lidget Green, Bradford, after dark on July 19 last year, attacked, bound and threatened with a gun.

The robbers fled with cash and parcels in the men’s Renault van.

Wolkowicz’s blood was found on the glove box of the stolen vehicle and personal documents taken from the robbery victims were recovered from the address where he was arrested in September last year.

He told the jury a Polish man brought the van to him and asked for help to hide it from the police.

Speaking through an interpreter, Wolkowicz, said he came to the UK from Poland about four months before the robbery.

He said he was unable to run and walked with crutches and calipers after scaffolding collapsed when he was working as a builder in Poland in 2004. He suffered a fractured spine and doctors advised him to come to the UK for treatment.

Wolkowicz said he had muscle wastage in both legs and was too disabled to have taken part in the robbery.

Jurors stood up to take a better look when he removed coverings to show them his legs.