A security guard told a Court how a man charged with robbing more than £300,000 from a Securicor cash van had spoken with him about a possible raid.

Bradford man Amir Hussain, 23, was a part-time Securicor driver when the robbery took place in January 2002.

He is on trial with Fahim Azam, 23, accused of robbing the van at the Crown Retail Park in Leeds.

John McLellan, who had worked with Hussain one Saturday in October 2001, yesterday told Leeds Crown Court how Hussain had led him to believe that he was planning a raid.

"He asked me if I thought it was possible to turn over one of these vans," Mr McLellan said.

"I asked if he meant physically turn it over and he said 'no, rob it'.

"I looked at him and from the expression on his face he wasn't kidding. He was deadly serious.

"I worked out from what he said that he had worked a way around the security devices on the vehicle to allow a robbery to take place."

Mr McLellan claimed that he had told Securicor management of the conversation, and was so concerned by it that he nearly refused to carry on working with Hussain that day.

He also told the court that Hussain had left the cash they were collecting on the van floor rather than store it in time-locked safes. Hussain's defence barrister Kevin Metzger QC asked Mr McLellan if that was a sackable offence.

"If you get found out you would be seriously disciplined or sacked," Mr McLellan said.

The court also heard how blood from Hussain's co-driver on the day of the robbery, David Dyer, was found on a seatbelt in Azam's car.

Hussain, of Horton Grange Road, Great Horton, and Azam, of Farnham Road, Great Horton, both deny the charges.

The jury has been told that a third defendant Mohammed Farooq, 22, of Hollingwood Lane, Lidget Green, has pleaded guilty to the robbery.

The trial continues.