Two brothers have been jailed for six years each for subjecting a bar manager to a terrifying ordeal when they “took over” a Brighouse pub late at night.

A court heard how Hadyn Astin had been getting ready to close up the Bridge pub on Briggate last December when Anthony Murphy, who was already barred from the premises, came in with a man and a woman.

Prosecutor Geraldine Kelly said Mr Astin refused to serve Murphy and the others, but when his brother Paul came in he claimed that they only wanted one drink.

Paul Murphy was said to have shown Mr Astin a knife as he told them: ”Just let me do what I want and you won’t get hurt.”

Bradford Crown Court heard that Paul Murphy then started pulling pints for the group and told Mr Astin to keep a tally so he could pay up at the end of the night.

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Miss Kelly said the manager overheard a conversation between the men about there being a lot of money in the tills and during the night both brothers managed pocket around £2,000 by getting into two tills and a safe.

After the man and woman left the pub at about 12.30am Mr Astin was told to lock the side door so the brothers could carry on drinking.

The pair then demanded to know where to find the CCTV equipment and after one of them picked up an axe they ordered Mr Astin upstairs and told him to open the office.

Miss Kelly said Paul Murphy pulled out the knife and told Mr Astin that “he didn’t want to have to use it”.

Eventually Anthony Murphy forced open the office door and the hard-drive was removed from the CCTV equipment before both men urinated on the floor.

The Bridge pub - scene of terrifying armed robbery

Miss Kelly said the axe and the hard-drive were later recovered from the nearby canal after the robbery.

After more threats Mr Astin said he would tell the police that two masked men had robbed him and the brothers eventually left in a taxi at about 2.30am with bags containing stolen alcohol.

Miss Kelly said Anthony Murphy had obtained Mr Astin’s number after taking his mobile phone from him during the incident and when he became aware that the police had identified them he rang the manager and threatened him.

During the call Anthony Murphy told him:”You ******* grassed on us. I’m coming over there to stab you and finish the job off.”

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The court heard that Paul Murphy, 43, of Fairfax Crescent, Southowram, had a lengthy history of previous convictions which included prison sentences for house burglary and firearms offences.

His 36-year-old brother Anthony, of Sunnybank Grange, Brighouse, had not committed any offences for over a decade.

Both men pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a bladed article in a public place and Anthony Murphy also admitted a separate charge of witness intimidation.

Jailing the brothers Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said their guilty pleas on the day of their trial has spared Mr Astin the ordeal of having to relive what happened that night.

The judge said although Mr Astin had not suffered any physical injury a number of weapons had been used during the course of “prolonged and nasty” incident.

“You subjected Mr Astin to indignity, humiliation, threat and fear as the matters developed into a full-blown robbery,” the judge told them.

“You clearly left him with the impression that he had better not tell the truth.”