A young Ilkley landlord is recovering from a terrifying ordeal in which he was ambushed by two armed burglars.

Lee Davies, the 26-year-old manager of the Ilkley Moor Vaults pub in Stockeld Road, was first woken by his security alarm at around 6am on Wednesday, February 12.

But after carrying out a careful check he decided it had been a false alarm and went back upstairs where his wife, Karen, and their three children were sleeping.

Twenty minutes later, however, the alarm went off again and he heard a stool being moved in the bar, so he went down to investigate - only to be jumped from behind.

He said: "I think they had been hiding in the toilets the first time I checked, and were waiting for me the second time.

"They put some sharp metallic object, which I think was a gun, to my back and steered me to the office where they emptied our safe and then did a runner.

"They had pushed me from behind with an arm on each of my shoulders so I couldn't see anything. I was just left shaking in the back of the office, really shaken up. I pushed a panic button and alerted the police, who were absolutely amazing.

"The woman I called when it had just happened did a fantastic job of calming me down."

Police, including an armed response unit from the West Yorkshire force's headquarters in Wakefield, were at the pub within half an hour.

They sent in sniffer dogs to make sure no other intruders were left inside before entering themselves, eventually making their way upstairs to give Mrs Davies a rude awakening.

"My wife and kids were in bed asleep as all this was happening, and Karen actually woke up to be greeted by three police officers," said Mr Davies. "She was really shocked."

Previously landlord of what he describes as "one of the roughest pubs in the country" based near Leeds, Mr Davies and his family moved to Ilkley just a few months ago.

The theory was to enjoy a quieter life, but the burglary happened in only his seventh week in charge of the Ilkley Moor Vaults.

He said: "I thought it was going to be a breeze in Ilkley! We were all insured and everything, so this didn't cost me anything financially but it has done a lot of emotional damage.

"The company have treated us very well, though. They've really looked after me and even sorted out a counsellor to help me get over this."

The only description Mr Davies could give to the police was that one of his assailants was wearing dark jogging bottoms and light coloured trainers.

Keighley CID are now appealing for anyone who saw anything unusual at the pub, or knows anything about the incident, to get in touch.

Anybody with information can call 01535 617083 or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.