Two men have each been jailed for seven years for a vigilante drive-by shooting on the streets of Bradford.

Usman Nawaz and Mohammed Yasin took the law into their own hands to scare off Rohid Ali by discharging the firearm towards him at close range on Heaton Road, Manningham, on August 15, 2017.

Mr Ali, 25, sustained serious head injuries when multiple gunshot pellets penetrated his skull. Zaka Ur-Rehman, who was standing with him, was hit on the upper body and had been left with psychological trauma, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Nawaz, 24, formerly of Oak Lane, Manningham, Bradford, now at an address in Blackburn, and Yasin, also 24, of Braithwaite Avenue, Keighley, were on trial for conspiracy to murder Mr Ali.

On Thursday last week, the Crown accepted their pleas to the lesser offence of conspiracy to possess a firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

Hasanain Murtaza, 24, of Highfield Drive, Heaton, Bradford, who was also on trial for conspiracy to murder, admitted assisting an offender. He was jailed for 27 months.

A fourth defendant, Sakib Ditta, 24, of Greystones Drive, Keighley, was cleared of conspiracy to murder and faced no further allegations.

During the trial, the court heard that a stolen car driven by Mr Ali was pursued by the police across Bradford two weeks before the shooting incident. It crashed into a vehicle containing Nawaz’s mother and sister who were left distressed and requiring medical treatment.

The Nawaz family made Ali’s behaviour known in the area, leading to an incident of criminal damage and verbal threats being issued towards the Nawaz’s.

Prosecutor Kama Melly QC said of the shooting: “It was a vigilante reprisal in an angry dispute between two groups of men in the Bradford area.”

After the incident, just after 10.30pm, the Honda Civic, bought for cash to be used in the crime, was burnt out on Shay Lane in Bradford.

Although the car was badly damaged when it was set on fire, a latex glove recovered from it had a DNA link to Yasin.

Murtaza provide a rescue vehicle by collecting his friends after the Honda was set on fire, the court was told.

Miss Melly said the police were informed by local residents that a shot had been fired. Shortly afterwards, a detective on other duties at Bradford Royal Infirmary saw a grey Seat Leon drive at speed through the car park and a male being helped into the hospital.

It was Rohid Ali and he was obviously bleeding. There was blood on the car door and on clothing on the back seat and a window was shattered.

Mr Ali was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary where he was operated on by a neurosurgeon who had to cut away part of his skull to reach the injured area of the brain.

Eight pellets were taken out of his head but it was considered too dangerous to remove all of them. Mr Ali also had a fractured skull and a blood clot. He was in intensive care and not released from the hospital until September 6.

Mr Ur-Rehman sustained shotgun wounds to his chest and shoulder area. He was hit by multiple pellets and treated in hospital.

The court heard he was now unable to sleep on his right side. He was wary of going to the shops and being out and about in Bradford.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, said the defendants were the same age and all friends.

The shooting plot developed after Nawaz was “incensed” about Mr Ali crashing into his family’s car in a stolen vehicle on false plates.

Then a vehicle parked outside Nawaz’s home was deliberately damaged with sticks and bricks and his relatives received death threats.

Instead of going to the police, Nawaz obtained the shotgun and ammunition and it was discharged in “very close and indiscriminate proximity” to Mr Ali and the group of young men standing with him on the street corner.

“It was a grotesque, excessive, ruthless and dangerous response to the verbal threats and criminal damage,” Judge Durham Hall said.

There was no evidence about where the gun came from or where it went after the shooting.

Abdul Iqbal QC, barrister for Nawaz, said his client had no history of violence.

Speaking of Mr Ali, Mr Iqbal said: “But for the criminal activity of a young man whose behaviour was thoroughly reprehensible, this would never have happened.”

Mr Ali’s group engaged in mob violence outside the Nawaz family home and made gun-related threats, terrifying his pregnant wife.

There was no plot to harm anyone. “It was an agreement designed to scare off these individuals,” Mr Iqbal said.

Nawaz was a call centre worker with a wife and two young children.

Balraj Bhatia QC, for Yasin, said Nawaz was his best friend and he acted out of misplaced loyalty.

They intended the shot to be “a deterrent and a frightener.”

Yasin, who had a wife and young child, was a passenger in the car when the firearm was discharged.

Richard Wright QC said Murtaza, an MoT tester, had behaved in an immature and foolish manner.

He didn’t organise the shooting he responded to a cry for help from his friends.

After the case, the judge commended the police investigation team for their painstaking hard work to bring the men to justice.

Speaking after the men were sentenced, Detective Superintendent Jim Griffiths, of West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, said: “Illegally owned firearms have no place on the streets of West Yorkshire and anyone found to be in possession of such weapons can expect to be sent to prison for a significant time.

“If you suspect someone has access to such weapons then please report it via 101, online through the West Yorkshire Police website, or anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555111, so we can investigate and take appropriate action.”