A FRIEND of Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was left bleeding when armed raiders attacked him in his Glasgow shop.

Newsagent Khalid Bhatti, 63, was pistol whipped before the robbers gave up trying to open his till and fled with a quantity of cigarettes.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Atif Iqbal, 17, of 5 Melville Street, Glasgow, was sentenced to two years' detention, and Fahim Iqbal, 18, of Huddersfield, was detained for 32 months.

But Lord Brailsford was told the older man who masterminded the raid on the Key News Plus store, Shawlands, was in prison in England for an unrelated offence.

The Iqbals had admitted taking part in the assault and robbery on February 3. The court heard Fahim Iqbal has previous convictions, but Atif Iqbal is a first offender.

Advocate depute Bernard Ablett, prosecuting, told how Mr Bhatti was left with a deep gash to his forehead after being struck with the butt of the handgun.

The three robbers, wearing hooded tops, went into his shop in Kilmarnock Road about 7am.

Atif Iqbal took a bottle of Lucozade to the counter - a ploy to get the shop-keeper to open his till.

Mr Bhatti, who recognised him, told him he could have the Lucozade cheap, because he did not have the right money.

As Mr Bhatti put the coins in his till, the gun was pushed towards his head and he was ordered to hand over money.

At first the shopkeeper thought he was the victim of a practical joke but pressed the shop's panic button when he realised the robbers were serious.

After they fled, armed police and a dog unit sealed off streets in an attempt to catch the assailants.

After the attack SNP activist Mr Bhatti received more than 150 messages of support from friends and well-wishers.

One was from Ms Sturgeon who said: "This was a cowardly attack on an innocent shopkeeper."