A CAR driver and his passenger cheated death when two gunmen opened fire on them in a grudge attack in Huddersfield, a court heard.

The Vauxhall Corsa was shot several times and badly damaged in the incident, which happened in broad daylight on a Sunday afternoon last September.

But a court heard that neither driver Safraz Hussain or his friend Mohammed Naseeb suffered any injuries.

Yesterday 21-year-old Yassar Yaqub went on trial accused of two charges of attempted murder and one of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sharp told a jury at Bradford Crown Court that some sort of grudge may have been behind the incident which took place at the junction of Birkby Hall Road and Norman Road on September 20.

Mr Sharp alleged that Yaqub, of Rudding Street, Crosland Moor, and two other men had gone out in a hired Volkswagen Jetta looking for Safraz Hussain.

The court was told that the three men had a shotgun and a handgun with them and they eventually came across Mr Hussain as he was driving around the Birkby area in the Corsa with his friend.

Mr Sharp alleged that at least two men jumped out of the Jetta and ran towards the Corsa carrying the weapons.

Mr Sharp said although the men were looking for Mr Hussain they did not stop even when it was obvious that there was another person in the car.

“Instead they fired directly at the front of the car several times from close range. One shot penetrated deep into the bodywork of the car.

“By great good fortune the shots did not actually penetrate the passenger compartment so Safraz Hussain and Mohammed Naseeb were not hurt.

“Safraz Hussain quickly reversed and drove off at speed. As he did so he saw one of the men trying to reload the shotgun.”

Mr Hussain's badly-damaged car was later examined and found to have a large hole in the bonnet consistent with being hit by a lead slug from a 12-bore shotgun.

The vehicle had also been hit by about 140 pellets from a shotgun and Mr Sharp said the marks showed they had hit the car at the top of the windscreen on the driver’s side at about head height.

A cartridge case normally used in a self-loading .32 pistol was also found at the scene.

Mr Hussain claimed to have recognised Yaqub and police visited his home in the early hours of the next morning.

Yaqub was not at home, but a key for the Jetta had apparently been posted through the letterbox.

The police told Yaqub’s parents that they wanted to speak to him in connection with the shooting, but he did not hand himself in at a police station until October 7.

He answered “no comment” to all questions put to him.

Mr Hussain later picked out Yaqub during identification procedures as one of the people who had shot at him.

The trial is expected to last about a week.