One of the six men accused of being connected with the death of Keighley security guard Qadir Ahmed had previously threatened to kill him, a Court heard.

Witness Saghir Younas said he heard Mohammed Iqbal, whom he knew as Nipper, shout something along the lines of "tell qadi (qadir) I'm going to kill him" in October or November 2001.

Mr Ahmed died on February 13 last year, when he was hacked and beaten to death near the Victoria roundabout in Keighley.

Leeds Crown Court heard yesterday that groups of Asian men bought a number of axes and hammers from two stores in the area only days before Mr Ahmed's killing.

Keighley B&Q store till operator Heather Heaton, manager Belinda Buxton and customer Alec Dale told the court that hammers and axes were bought from the store by a group of Asian men on February 12, 2002 - the day before Mr Ahmed's death.

The court also heard written evidence from staff at Trader in Commercial Street, Shipley, about three Asian men who bought axes and a hammer on February 11, 2002.

Mr Younas, 23, said the threat to kill Mr Ahmed was made in Mornington Street, Keighley, to a friend Javed Hussain. He told the court Iqbal got out of a blue Subaru car one evening in the autumn of 2001, some months before Mr Ahmed's death.

Mr Younas, currently serving a jail sentence for his part in the Bradford riots, told the court Iqbal had shouted threats to Mr Hussain, who ran from the scene, as well as yelling threats about Mr Ahmed.

He also said the driver of the car was Mohammed Rafiq, known as Raf, also accused in connection with Mr Ahmed's killing.

Jonathan Hall, QC, defending Iqbal, said his client denied this ever happened.

He said Mr Younas's original statement to police said Iqbal opened the window of the car and shouted, rather than getting out of the vehicle.

Zulfiqar Asif, 23, denies inflicting grievous bodily harm on Mudassar Iqbal.

Asif, of Bradford Road; Amjad Ali Azam, 21, of Surrey Street; Parveez Ashraf, 26, of Victoria Park View; Zahir Bashir, 27, of Emily Street; Mohammed Rafiq, 21, of Chatsworth Street; Atif Younis, 22, of Lawkholme Lane, all Keighley; and Mohammed Iqbal, 24, of Salt Street, Manningham, Bradford, all deny conspiracy to murder Mr Ahmed.

The trial is expected to last seven more weeks.