A shop worker thought he was going to die as he bravely fought off three armed robbers during a raid on a Bradford convenience store.

The shocking incident was captured on CCTV footage from inside the Eko Polski premises on Legrams Lane and today one of the masked intruders was sentenced to more than three years in a young offenders institution.

Bradford Crown Court heard today how the three men wearing face coverings walked into the shop at about 5.15pm on February 4 and demanded money from the lone shop assistant.

Prosecutor Jessica Lister said the first male had a large knife, another was armed with a pick-axe handle and 18-year-old Tokara Ali was carrying a hammer.

The knifeman pointed his weapon towards the assistant and he tried to defend himself by grabbing a wooden pole.

“He came from behind the till and the male with the knife waved it repeatedly at him,” said Miss Lister.

“He used the pole to keep the attackers at bay.

“The defendant lunged towards the complainant and hit him repeatedly on the head with hammer.”

The CCTV footage showed the knifeman climbing onto the counter and grabbing items from behind the till while the shop worker became involved in a scuffle with the teenager.

During that scuffle the third intruder also hit the complainant from behind.

Two of the robbers fled the scene, but the complainant managed to hold onto Ali.

Miss Lister said the complainant shouted and screamed for help and two neighbours came to his aid and helped him to detain Ali until police officers arrived to arrest him.

The court heard that the shop worker suffered numerous injuries including cuts to the top of his head.

He underwent an MRI scan in hospital, but no internal injuries were found.

Miss Lister said the victim declined to make a personal statement, but in a previous statement he said he had been very scared especially when the knife was produced.

“He thought he was going to die and believed that if he hadn’t screamed, and the neighbours come to his aid, he would have been killed,” said Miss Lister.

The court heard that at the time of the robbery Ali was still subject to a 12-month community order imposed in October last year for taking a knife into a Bradford nightclub.

Ali, now 19, of Woodcross Court, Holme Top, Bradford, pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, unlawful wounding and possessing an offensive weapon and today he was sentenced to 44 months in a young offenders institution.

Ali was initially remanded in custody following his arrest in February, but after suffering “a mental breakdown” he had been transferred to Lynfield Mount hospital.

But Recorder Mark McKone KC said Ali was not found to be suffering from a mental illness and a hospital order was not recommended.

The judge accepted that Ali had suffered a disrupted upbringing spending time in different countries and he had been assessed as an immature 19-year-old.

The judge said Ali and the shop worker were both very fortunate that the injuries were not a lot more serious.

“He said he was scared and thought he was going to die,” said the judge.

“For robbery this is a high culpability case because of the use of a weapon to inflict violence.”

The judge told Ali that he had imposed the lowest possible sentence having regard to his personal mitigation, but he warned him that if he committed another offence of robbery or serious violence he could expect a very long custodial sentence indeed.