Seven men were convicted today of conspiring to murder Keighley security guard Qadir Ahmed.

After seven hours of deliberation at Leeds Crown Court, a jury unanimously found each of the defendants guilty of the conspiracy charge. Their trial had lasted six weeks.

As the verdicts were read by the jury foreman some of the defendants smiled, smirked and even giggled.

Seven police officers wearing body armour were brought into court number 12 before the verdicts were read as Mr Justice Henriques warned those in the public gallery that anybody causing a disturbance would be arrested.

Mr Ahmed, 24, of Gordon Street, Keighley, had been ambushed late at night at Victoria Park roundabout, Keighley, on February 13 last year after he had been playing football at the nearby Keighley Leisure Centre. His car was rammed off the road before he was chased by a gang and attacked with a variety of weapons, eventually dying from an axe wound to his head.

The seven men found guilty were Zulfiqar Asif, 23, of Bradford Road, Keighley; Amjad Ali Azam, 21, of Surrey Street, Keighley; Mohammed Iqbal, 24, of Salt Street, Manningham, Bradford; Perveez Ashraf, 26, of Victoria Park View, Keighley; Zahir Bashir, 27 of Emley Street, Keighley; Mohammed Rafiq, 21, of Chatsworth Street, Keighley; and Atif Younis, 22, of Buxton Street, Keighley.

Six of the seven were jailed for terms between six and 20 years.

During the trial, prosecutor Jennifer Kershaw QC told the jury that the seven men had plotted to kill Mr Ahmed because of gang rivalry in Keighley.

The court was told that the group of Asian men bought a number of hammers and axes from two stores only days before the attack took place.

Mrs Kershaw said the seven men also bought second-hand cars, a mask and gloves to carry out the attack which, she said, constituted an "armed ambush".

Speaking of the attack, she told the jury: "It depended on planning; it was organised, comprehensive, resourceful and in the end lethal."

A background report on this case will appear in Friday's Telegraph & Argus