A petrol station worker who lost his job after fighting with his girlfriend's former partner while on a nightshift has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Shakeel Quyam, 23, confronted Hiron Miah after he turned up with a group of friends at the Jet filling station, in Halifax Road, Keighley.

During the late-night disturbance the two men became involved in a fight, a door panel was smashed and various items inside the shop were knocked over.

Bradford Crown Court heard on Tuesday how Quyam's work colleague Michael White tried to intervene to stop the fighting and eventually police were called to the garage.

Prosecutor John Bull said photographs of the aftermath showed "a certain amount of chaos" inside the office. Quyam, of Cark Road, Keighley, was immediately suspended from his job and his barrister, Nicholas Askins, revealed that two weeks after the incident last October he was dismissed.

Quyam, who had no previous convictions, and Miah, 25, who lives in Cheshire, both admitted charges of threatening behaviour at an earlier court hearing.

Quyam had his three-month prison term suspended for 18 months but he was also made the subject of a 12-month supervision order.

Miah was jailed immediately for three months after Recorder Andrew Kershaw said he had caused the violence that night.

The court heard that Miah, who had travelled to the area with a group of friends, had been drinking vodka and went to the petrol station after an argument with his former girlfriend about access to his young son.

Recorder Kershaw said Miah had threatened to cause trouble in order to get his own way so his culpability was high whether or not he was the one who threw the first punch.

The judge said the police had to attend "in numbers" because of the men's behaviour that night and added: "Actual violence had been used in public causing fear no doubt, not only to yourselves, but to Mr White, the other employee, and no doubt an unidentified person who had been seen on the video tape.

"That sort of fear, even if not deliberately aimed at members of the public, is inevitable when you fight in public.

"Your behaviour lasted something like five minutes but it will have seemed longer to the innocent people present."

Recorder Kershaw said blood was shed during the incident, the door and shop contents were damaged and such behaviour put people off using a business if they were afraid of being caught up in a fight.

Mr Askins pointed out that his client had not been looking for trouble that night but he conceded that Quyam had confronted Miah about his presence at the garage.

"There were opportunities for him to desist and withdraw and those opportunities were not taken," accepted Mr Askins.

Barrister Robin Frieze, for Miah, said he accepted that his presence had been the trigger for what happened and he now regretted it.

"He apologises through me to Mr Quyam, the court and the owners of the petrol station," added Mr Frieze.