A terrified couple were robbed at gunpoint of £5,000 after they were lured 600 miles to Bradford to buy a car advertised on the internet.

Michael Irving and Louise Cogall, who live in the Shetland Islands off the north-east coast of Scotland, were waylaid by three masked men in Park Drive, Heaton, at noon on Saturday, August 10, a jury at Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday.

The robbers, armed with a handgun and a plank of wood, seized a red suitcase containing cash for a white Audi A4 Quattro the pair were hoping to buy.

Miss Cogall, 36, told the court the men appeared from a driveway and ran at them shouting: “I am going to take the bag. I am going to shoot you.” She said Mr Irving was holding the case and the weapon was pointed at his face.

“I thought they were going to shoot Michael and I was begging them not to shoot him. I was saying ‘Give them the bag. Just leave him alone’,” Miss Cogall said.

Mr Irving told how he froze when three men in black balaclava masks suddenly ran at him. “My heart started pounding and I realised it was fruitless trying to do anything,” he said.

Sajid Hussain, 24, of Cuncliffe Villas, Manningham, Bradford, denies joining with others to rob the couple of £5,000 in money and two passports, and possession of a firearm or an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.

Prosecutor Simon Haring told the jury that Shahid Sadik, of Toller Lane, Bradford, had pleaded guilty to being one of the robbers.

Mr Haring said Mr Irving and Miss Cogall, who ran a car hire business from their home, saw an advertisement on the internet Auto Trader site for an Audi A4 Quattro for sale for £5,995.

Miss Cogall rang the number and spoke to a man who said the car was in perfect condition and belonged to his wife.

The couple arrived by train in Bradford on August 10 and, following instructions, took a taxi to an address in Park Drive.

They began to get suspicious when the car was not there, or at neighbouring houses.

Their contact said his wife had driven to the shops in it and then suggested they were on the wrong Park Drive.

While they waited, the three robbers struck, fleeing on foot along Parsons Road.

The jury saw CCTV footage, obtained by the police from a nearby householder, of them running off up the road.

Mr Haring alleged that Hussain was bringing up the rear with the stolen bag. The trial continues.