As a boy growing up in Pakistan, Mohammed Qasim was fascinated by cars.

"We did not have a car ourselves but I loved to look at them and I was always interested in how they were put together and what made them run, " he says.

"From being very young I really wanted a car."

In his early teens his family moved to Britain and it was not long before Mohammed was indulging his love of cars with some hands-on experience.

He began to help family friends with their vehicles, tinkering about under the bonnet. "I was always fiddling about with cars, mini-buses - you name it, I would tinker."

His avid interest and enthusiasm meant he learned quickly and soon became very proficient. This expertise led to a job as a trainee mechanic at a small back street garage in Bradford, where his family settled.

"I had to work my way up and had a number of other jobs first, but as soon as I was good enough I found work in a garage, " he recalls.

Staff at the garage gave Mohammed further training and he went on to work at four garages across the district.

"I know all about cars now, " he says. "I have been working in garages for as long as I can remember."

Mohammed's four brothers also entered the motor trade, ending up joint owners of Richard Street Garage on Leeds Road, Bradford.

Later, Mohammed took over and has been proprietor ever since, carrying out MOTs, servicing and repairs on cars of all description. He loves his job, particularly the satisfaction in seeing a customer pleased.

"It is very rewarding when people come to collect their car after a problem has been corrected. You get a real, buzz out of that, " he says.

Surprisingly, he does not find himself wracked with nerves when he has to inform a client of a fault that could be expensive to fix.

"I putmy cards on the table and tell them what is wrong and how much it will cost. I don't touch the car until I get the go-ahead, " he points out.

The worst aspect of the job, he says, is the weather. "When it is cold and damp it isn't nice, but we have to carry on working."

Although busy all year round, the garage - which has a staff of four - is busiest in winter, when engines struggle to cope.

Over the years Mohammed, now 44, has been able to identify particular problems that affect certain cars. "If there is an overheating problem on a particular model you tend to see it again and again, " he says.

When taking on amechanic, he looks for City & Guilds 1 and 2 qualifications, and, most importantly, relevant practical experience.

He is about to open a second garage in Bradford, Car Genie, which he is targeting at busy city centre workers who would benefit from their vehicles being picked up for the annual MOT and service, then delivered back to them.

"We want to take the hassle out of it, " he adds, saying that the service was intended in particular to benefit women drivers.

"Women tend to get very stressed and hassled by their MOT and service."

He says there is no job he has been unable to do for his customers, who hail not only from the local area but from Halifax, Huddersfield and Harrogate.

"Above all, we look for customer satisfaction. That is the main thing, " he adds.