GURMAIL Singh was a rock at the heart of the community he served.

Nobody in Cowcliffe, where he ran the only store, has anything other than gushing praise for the diminutive shopkeeper.

As soon as the news of his death hit the shocked community, tales emerged of how he would go out of his way to help anyone as he worked from 6am until 9pm in the shop, seven days-a-week.

Customers talked of how the grandfather would close-up to take groceries to house-bound pensioners and, when snow closed the steep hills of Cowcliffe to vehicles, he fetched the newspapers and delivered them on his sledge.

His family and his customers all talked about his infectious smile.

When anyone meets a violent death there are always flowers and tributes. In the case of father-of-three Mr Singh, the outbreak of public affection and loss seemed especially deep-seated and genuine.

Months after the terrible events of February 20, when his family re-opened his store, people living nearby remembered a hard-working friend.

Pensioner Neil Shuttleworth said he was "everything we could want from a local shopkeeper. It was just so, so unfair.

"He was just a great example of what service and friendship and warmth can do. We’ve so little left now in this area, this was the one focal link of the village."

Pat Lowe, who lives around the corner, said: "He used to make us laugh. He always had a cheery wave when you came to pick up your papers.

"He always looked after the older people."

Mr Singh’s story is a classic tale of a 1960s immigrant who built a business, raised a family and made a big contribution to his adopted community through sheer determination and decades of hard work.

He was born in the Punjab area of India in 1947. His father left for England in the 1950’s and Mr Singh followed him to Huddersfield in 1963 - aged 16.

This was a time of plentiful employment in the factories of West Yorkshire and Mr Singh found work in a pipe making plant where other members of his family were already employees.

He married his wife, Mohinder, in 1969 and embedded himself in the life of the town.

For years he played for and ran the Indian Star football team. Everyone said he loved football.

He bought the Cowcliffe store about five years ago after years of saving. It had been boarded up and he put it back in the centre of the community.

The murder trial heard how Mr Singh had never been robbed in his first five years of trading. Then, two days before he died, he was robbed by two masked youths. He resisted their attempts and was punched and had his turban knocked off before the pair escaped with cigarettes.

The court was told there was no connection between those involved in the fatal attack on February 20 and the robbery on February 18.

One teenager was locked up for six months after he admitted the earlier robbery. But an 18-year-old escaped a jail sentence after admitting his part in planning the robbery.

People living in Cowcliffe have raised more than £1,500 for a memorial to Mr Singh.

They started raising cash to fund a reward to catch his killers. But, when police made early arrests, they decided a bench near his shop might be a fitting memorial.

In July, six months after Mr Singh’s death, his sons Bobby and Jas Hayre reopened the shop after a full refit.

Bobby said: "We just wanted to be here for the local community." As the store reopened, Mr Singh’s sister Darshan Kaur showed off the portrait of her brother which still has pride of place above the counter.