ANGRY community members are coming together to launch a reward fund to help catch the brutal killers of a beloved shopkeeper.

A bank account is due to be opened today for people to contribute cash that could be offered to anyone with information to snare the gang that attacked Gurmail Singh.

Police were today continuing to hunt the youths who attacked Mr Singh in his Cowcliffe Convenience Store on Cowcliffe Hill Road on Saturday night – the day after his 63rd birthday.

Det Supt Dave Pervin, who is leading the inquiry, yesterday confirmed they used a blunt object, probably a hammer, to cause his fatal injuries.

Now Billy Pickup, the landlord of the Shepherd’s Arms pub, opposite the shop, and Kevin Holmes, a pub regular, hope to encourage people to put their hands in their pockets.

Mr Pickup said: “Everybody has been shocked and saddened by what has happened.

“He was the nicest bloke you could wish to meet and if they can do it to him they can do it to anyone.

“We just want to do something to help.”

Mr Holmes said: “We want to do something on behalf of the community, to show that we care.

“I’m sure that there are lots of people who would want to support us.”

As soon as the bank account was open they would provide details about how to pay into it, they said.

Det Supt Pervin yesterday gave more details of the circumstances surrounding the attack on Mr Singh.

He said the father-of-three, who was thought to have three grandchildren, was shutting up shop at 8.30pm when two thugs in dark hooded tops charged in – while two others kept guard outside.

Some drinkers outside the Shepherds Arms saw the two youths outside the shop acting shiftily before walking down Cowcliffe Hill Road.

One of the punters went across the road and looked through the shop window, where he saw two more rifling through cigarettes and booze.

He courageously blocked their way out by standing in front of the door, despite their desperate attempts to smash the window with a hammer and bottles.

“The witness held on to the door, even while being showered with glass,” Det Supt Pervin said.

Eventually the robbers escaped from the back of the shop.

One man rugby tackled one offender and another man tripped a second suspect but they managed to escape.

Witnesses then found Mr Singh in the shop with serious head injuries.

Police and paramedics attended the scene five minutes later and took him to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary. He died at about 3.30am on Sunday.

Det Supt Pervin said the robbers escaped with next to nothing.

He said: “They dropped one or two bags of cigarettes, some coin bags and some chewing gum."

The detective said they were looking at possible links with an incident at the shop on Thursday night – and would not rule out a connection with other recent attacks on shops in the area.

Mr Singh, who came to the UK in 1963, had run his corner shop seven days a week for the last five years.

Det Supt Pervin added: “It is an absolute tragedy.

“Mr Singh worked extremely hard. He was well liked by everyone.

“He’s described as extremely jolly, would do absolutely anything for anyone. There was no need for this to happen, there really wasn’t.

“I don’t know who committed this offence at this time but there was absolutely, absolutely no need for them to do what they did.”

Distraught relative Darshan Singh, 67, from Halifax, said Mr Singh had told him about the recent trouble.

He said: “I saw him at a funeral on Friday and he said he had some hassle last week with a group of boys but it was nothing unusual.

“They tend to be teenagers and they know the law. They know that we can’t touch them so they come in and crowd around us and steal stuff.

“He (Mr Singh) had spoken about retiring but he had a few more years to go.”

Another close family friend, who did not want to be named, said there had been three incidents at the shop in the last six months.

She said the family firmly believed the same people who carried out those incidents were responsible for the attack on Mr Singh.

She said: “The same group of lads had bullied him a bit and tried to snatch the till. They knew he was vulnerable.

“The family are in shock. It’s hard to take in.”

Debbie Riley, who looked after Mr Singh’s shell- shocked wife after the attack said that the community had been left shaken.

She said: “Mrs Singh was in total shock, she just kept looking down at the ground and then asking: ‘Will my husband be ok?’”

Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman said: “What a ghastly tragedy, a waste of a great human being.

“It’s a terrible toll on his family.”

Graham Rogers, who works at Batleys cash and carry on Leeds Road, where Mr Singh would buy stock, said: “He would come in three or four times a week.

“He was. He was a great guy, he would do anything for you.

“All the staff are very saddened about what has happened. It’s a waste of a life.”

Yorkshire Lions Football Club in Bradley, where Mr Singh used to take his grandchildren, issued a statement saying: “We would like to offer our condolences to the family. The committee are very saddened and upset by these events. Mr Singh was a very nice chap.”

The gang are all in their late teens and were wearing dark hooded tops and tracksuit bottoms. It is thought they are probably local.

Anyone with information should call 0845 6060606 or Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555111.