A 17-YEAR-OLD has avoided being locked up for his part in helping those responsible for the brutal murder of Mohammed Feazan Ayaz.

Mr Ayaz, 20, of Duckworth Grove, Manningham, Bradford, died from a traumatic head injury after he was stripped naked, punched, slapped and kicked at unit 2 of Denholme Business centre on June 30 and July 1 last year.

The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of assisting an offender, having helped others transport Mr Ayaz's body and returned to the unit to help clear up.

Bradford Crown Court heard that the youth, who was 16 at the time of the murder, had been a passenger in the Smart car which had driven in convoy with the Ford S Max carrying My Ayaz's body to Saffron Drive in Allerton, where his body was dumped.

He was also captured on CCTV carrying a black bin bag from the unit in the early hours of the morning.

In sentencing, trial judge Mr Justice Goss said he was giving the 17-year-old a chance to turn his life around and made him subject to a youth rehabilitation order for two years and an overnight curfew for six months.

He said the youth had only become involved in the aftermath of the "truly horrific" murder because of his role in the drug dealing operation being run from the unit.

He had been lured by the easy money and "superficial glamour" of drug dealing, and was a cannabis user himself, the judge said.

Three men were jailed for life yesterday having been found guilty of Mr Ayaz's murder.

Raheel Khan, 27, of no fixed address; Robert Wainwright, 26, of Mannville Terrace, Bradford; and Suleman Khan, 20, of Sandford Road, Bradford, were found guilty by an all-female jury at Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday.

Shoaib Shafiq, 20, of Gladstone Street, Bradford, was also convicted of assisting an offender.

Khan was handed a life sentence, with a minimum term of 30 years, while Wainwright and Suleman Khan were both given minimum terms of 25 years. Shafiq will serve 21 months in a Young Offender Institution.

Mr Justice Goss told the youth: "Had it not been for your involvement in drug dealing you would not have been there that night. Had you not been in partnership with Shoaib Shafiq you would not have been in the car and I am satisfied that you were confronted with the situation and there was no easy way out. But you committed a very serious offence."

He added: "I am satisfied you were acting in part under Shafiq's direction in relation to what took place."

He also referred to a "tragic event" in the youth's family life, but that could no longer be a reason for breaking the law.

He praised the 17-year-old for beginning to rehabilitate himself prior to the trial, by concentrating on his college studies.

Junaid Hussain, 28, of Silverhill Road, Bradford Moor and Stephen Queeney, 34, of Junction Row, Bolton Road, were both found not guilty of murder and also cleared of manslaughter.

During the trial, horrific details were revealed as to how Mr Ayaz, nicknamed Fizzy, came to his death.