Murder hunt after teenage robbers beat shopkeeper

Gurmail Singh, 63, was left lying in his own blood at Cowcliffe Convenience Store in Cowcliffe, Huddersfield, as locals from a nearby pub tried to stop hooded teenagers from fleeing with a small amount of cash, cigarettes and confectionery.

The father of two, who is believed to have been battered around the head, was said to have been lying on the floor as one of his sons urged him to cling to life following the robbery by four teenagers at about 8.30pm on Saturday.

But he lost his battle at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary, where he died at 3.30am yesterday.

The landlord of the Shepherds Arms public house near the store, William Pickup, 60, said he was upstairs when he heard banging outside and looked out of the window.

He described how one of his regulars ran out of the pub and pulled the door of the shop shut to try to stop two of the youths from escaping.

Mr Pickup said: "The robbers were trying to smash the door with a hammer. That's when I ran down the stairs. By the time I got down there they had jumped out the back way and run down the road."

Witness Debbie Riley, 45, said her partner held the door shut from the outside as the robbers tried to smash it.

She said: "Firstly we thought they might have had a sledgehammer but it might have been a bottle. My friend ran over to help hold the door and the glass was shattering and falling all over him, getting in his hair.

"All this time one of them must have been opening the back and they then came running out. One young lad managed to rugby tackle one of them when he passed the pub, but he managed to get away."

She described seeing Mr Singh "lying with his legs bent beneath him and his head in the wine rack".

Mr Pickup said the other two robbers had left the shop earlier "with hoods up and hands in pockets and smiling".

"That's when one of my customers went across and there were still two robbers in the shop," he said.

The landlord and several regulars went into the shop where they found the businessman.

"When we went into the shop Mr Singh was lying there. There were bottles broken. He was laid in the corner, his feet were doubled up underneath him. He was breathing heavy and moaning. He was bleeding. I just saw the pool of blood.

"They got the cigarettes and spirits. It's a cheap way of killing somebody.

"One of his sons came into the shop when we were there. He was saying, 'Dad, don't go, don't go. Hold on.' He was bent over his father when we left."

Locals tried to protect Mr Singh's wife, who had arrived at the door of the shop, and they took her to the nearby pub.

Mr Pickup said: "All she was saying was, 'I want to see my husband.'"

Mr Pickup said the shopkeeper had been targeted just days earlier.

"Two lads went in the shop and attacked him then. They went in and pushed him out of the way and pinched some cigarettes. He was not badly hurt. It shook him up. He would not let anyone take anything without putting up a struggle.

"He was a lovely chap in the community. He had run the store for about four years. He was a very caring family man. He did anything for the community and was an asset to this community."

The robbers are described as four youths in their late teens wearing dark hooded tops and tracksuit bottoms.

Police senior investigating officer Det Supt David Pervin said: "Mr Singh was a well known and popular local businessman who had been in this area many years.

"I appeal for anyone with information to contact us as a matter of urgency."

Witnesses should contact the Huddersfield Police helpline via 0845 6060606.