Five in court over shopkeeper's murder

Five men will go on trial today accused of murdering a shopkeeper who was beaten to death during a robbery at his store.

Umare Aslam, 20, Muawaz Khalid, 20, Shoaib Khan, 18, Nabeel Shafi, 18, and Rehman Afzal, 18, are charged with the murder and robbery of Huddersfield shopkeeper Gurmail Singh.

Police have said Mr Singh, 63, died from head injuries after he was struck a number of times with a weapon, believed to be a hammer, in the shop in the Cowcliffe area of Huddersfield on February 20.

Aslam, of Coniston Avenue, Dalton, Huddersfield; Khalid, of Blackmoorfoot Road, Huddersfield; Khan, of Calton Street, Hillhouse, Huddersfield; Shafi, of Park Hill, Bradley, Huddersfield; and Afzal, of Jacinth Court, Fartown, Huddersfield, are due to go on trial at Bradford Crown Court.

Police have said Mr Singh came to the UK in 1963. He left a wife, two adult sons and a daughter. He celebrated his 63rd birthday the day before he died.

In June, Mr Singh's family reopened his store which had been closed for five months following his death.