TV actor Michael Starke - who played Sinbad in Channel Four's Brookside - has become the latest victim of car crime in Bradford.

The former soap star is in the city filming a new TV drama series called The Royal in a disused ward in St Luke's Hospital.

Mr Starke plays the role of a much put-upon porter in the new series which is a spin-off of the hugely successful ITV show Heartbeat and will be screened next year.

Only minutes after he parked his car in the NCP multi-storey in Hall Ings, thieves smashed the driver's side window and stole compact discs left inside.

The Liverpudlian actor was left badly shaken after the break-in yesterday morning but told the Telegraph & Argus that he would not let the incident spoil his view of the city.

Earlier this year NCP Bosses spent thousands upgrading security at the car park, installing extra strip lighting on all 14 parking levels and improved CCTV coverage as well as more security patrols.

The move came after Chief Inspector Ray Shepherd, of Bradford South Police, rapped its operators as the multi-storey car park topped the car crime league in the city centre.

Mr Starke said: "I'm from Liverpool, which has a bit of an unfair reputation for this type of thing, but it's a problem in every city across the country.

"I've had a very warm welcome in Bradford so I'm not going to let it ruin my impression of the city. It's just shaken me up a bit.

"Obviously I'm annoyed that the car has been broken into, but these things happen.

"The only people to blame are the ones who broke into my car."

An NCP spokesman said security was a top priority for the company and it had been awarded the BSI EN ISO 9002 security standard for all of its car parks.

The spokesman said: "The Hall Ings car park has seen a dramatic reduction in crime over the past few months.

"The break-in, whilst unfortunate, is a relatively isolated incident.

"We will, however, continue to work closely with the police to help stamp out crime in Bradford."