TWO men have been jailed after a shocking attack in a Bradford cab office was caught on CCTV.

Footage of the violence, which took place on Christmas Day last year, was shown to a crown court judge today and captured three men bursting into the premises of A&M Taxis in Thornton Road.

Their victim – 33-year-old Mohammed Shabir – who was working alone, was punched repeatedly as he sat in his chair before one of the men picked up a craft knife from the desk and deliberately slashed him across the back of his neck.

Prosecutor Alisha Kaye said Mr Shabir required 12 stitches in the neck wounds and also suffered a black eye and a fractured eye socket.

She told Bradford Crown Court that two cars, containing eight masked or hooded men, had pulled up outside the office at about 9pm on Christmas Day.

Faisal Munir Hussain, 29, family friend Qasim Ali, 34, and a third unidentified man had gone into the office and Miss Kaye said Ali was heard telling Hussain to “whack him”.

The court heard that during the attack Hussain punched Mr Shabir before picking up the knife and slashing the back of his neck.

Ali’s barrister, Elyas Patel, said the incident was provoked by an attack at another cab firm’s office the previous day. “Of course it can never be right or justifiable to engage in a reprisal attack of some sort or indeed to take the law into one’s own hands,” he conceded.

“But the events of the day before make plain that this wasn’t an unprovoked attack. Their sense of grievance was real.”

Miss Kaye confirmed that four men had been charged with affray and were due to appear in court next month.

Hussain, of Toller Lane, Bradford, pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm and today he was jailed for five years and five months.

Ali, of Legrams Lane, admitted a lesser unlawful wounding charge and he was locked up for 14 months.

Hussain’s barrister Ian Brook highlighted a medical report which described the neck wound as “superficial” and he stressed that his client had not taken the knife with him to the cab office.

Mr Brook said the knife had been used “on the spur of the moment” and had not been premeditated.

Judge Jonathan Gibson was referred to various testimonials for both men which spoke about their charity and community work.

Mr Patel said Ali had thrown some “quick-fire punches”, but when the knife was deployed he withdrew completely and played no further part in the assault.

Jailing the pair, Judge Gibson accepted there had been some provocation due to the earlier incident, but that was offset by the fact that the assault at the cab office was in a sense a “revenge attack”.

“The background relates to on-going disputes between two taxi firms in this city,” said the judge.

“I understand members of the rival firm have been charged with affray arising out of an earlier incident. However of course having said that you had no right to assault Mr Shabir who was working as a taxi controller on his own in his office at the rival firm that night.

“All of your actions were caught on CCTV and I have viewed the CCTV which shows a violent and vicious attack although the attack itself only lasted for a very short period of time.”