Police were called when furious customers descended on a Keighley travel agency claiming they had been cheated out of thousands of pounds worth of flight tickets.

Officers rushed to A-Z Money Transfer & Travel, in North Street, shortly before midday yesterday after reports of an incident.

Angry and bewildered customers claimed they had paid money to fly to Pakistan but ended up without tickets.

And others said people who had booked through the same business were stranded in Pakistan after their tickets were cancelled.

An Airedale and North Bradford Police spokesman said: “Concerns about booking payments were raised with officers who attended the scene, and investigations are currently ongoing to ascertain the full circumstances.”

Five police officers and PCSOs remained outside the premises early yesterday afternoon. They handed members of the public phone numbers for ActionFraud – a national fraud and internet crime reporting centre.

The owner of the building housing the travel agents, Mohammed Shafiq, said his own business - Legend Claims - was a completely separate company. He said A-Z Money Transfer & Travel was a tenant on the ground floor.

Among those at the scene was Knowle Park resident Mohammed Ameen, 26, who said he and his siblings had been left with no tickets. He said he was meant to be flying to Pakistan on April 19 for his wedding.

“I paid £2,000 for five tickets for me, my brothers and my sister,” he said. “I came here today to pay the remaining £300, but the guy has gone. I need my money back.”

Keighley town councillor Javaid Akhtar said he paid £980 for two flight tickets for his sons.

“I only found out about this yesterday,” he said. “It’s a bit of a disaster. This is hard-earned money that people have paid – I’m just shocked that this has happened.”

Mohammed Khalil, 45, and Sajid Mahmood, 39, said they had also lost out. Mr Khalil said he paid £2,930 for five tickets which he had not received, while Mr Mahmood said he paid £4,800 for ten tickets.

No-one was answering A-Z Money Transfer & Travel’s phone number yesterday afternoon.