A plumber who ignored his wife's plea to come home during the Bradford riots was today beginning a four-and-a-half year jail sentence.

Zamir Hussain was caught on police video footage answering a call from his wife on his mobile phone after he failed to return from work as expected.

The 31-year-old had already been milling about among other rioters when his wife rang, but his barrister Richard Gioserano said he foolishly did not listen to her.

He described how the self-employed plumber and decorator had seen the crowds in the Whetley Hill area as he made his way home from work that night.

"He, like hundreds of people, saw no harm in watching and that's what he did for quite some time to begin with,'' said Mr Gioserano.

But he conceded that over the next three-and-a-half hours Hussain gradually got closer to the violence, although he himself was not involved in throwing missiles or stones at police lines.

Bradford Crown Court was yesterday shown a 50-minute video compilation which revealed father-of-three Hussain's involvement that night.

At one stage he is shown helping to roll a wooden pole onto a burning barricade in the road and he is also caught on film among a group of rioters pushing a burning car towards officers.

On another occasion Hussain, of Queen's Road, Manningham, was handed a golf club while he was near other rioters hitting golf balls at police lines.

But Mr Gioserano stressed that his client was not himself hitting golf balls or pushing burning cars towards officers.

"For some reason he wants to be part of the crowd....but he himself is not doing it,'' he added.

Hussain handed himself in to police after his photograph was published in the Telegraph & Argus and he pleaded guilty to riot when he appeared before the crown court.

Mr Gioserano urged Judge Stephen Gullick to reduce his client's prison sentence to lower than four years because of his limited actions, but the judge said it would be unreal to deal with his specific acts in isolation.

"These acts were not committed in isolation and as I have already indicated it is that very fact which constitutes the gravity of this offence,'' he told Hussain.

He accepted that Hussain had shown genuine remorse for his involvement, but he said he had clearly associated himself with the other rioters by being present over a long period of time. You stopped to see what was going on. You thereafter remained with the crowd for some five hours.

"At one point I'm told you were telephoned by your wife. You can be seen on the video using your telephone at one point.

"Your wife told you to come home. It is singularly unfortunate that you did not do as she asked you.''

He added that Hussain had been on the streets of his own free will and had chosen to associate with and encourage others by his presence.