EIGHTEEN cars – including one that had to be written off – were broken into at a Bradford city centre car park in the early hours.

The incident happened in the early hours of Sunday, October 14, at the NCP Hall Ings, which had to be closed throughout the day.

A NCP spokesperson said: “Between midnight and 3am on Sunday the NCP Bradford Hall Ings car park was broken into when thieves climbed up external scaffolding that was on a building opposite our closed car park.”

Police arrested a 31-year-old man from Bradford on suspicion of theft from motor vehicles, and he has since been released pending further inquiries. A police spokesperson said they were seeking two further suspects.

Tony Matthews, 56, of Knottingley, had come to Bradford to see Miss Saigon at the Alhambra with his wife and was staying at The Bradford Hotel.

The hotel advises customers to use the neighbouring NCP car park. Mr Mathews and his wife, who is registered disabled, were left stranded after the incident.

He said: “Our car was written off immediately, I couldn’t even take it out of the car park. It’s just mindless. I’m not upset, I’m angry more than anything and my wife was devastated really.”

Their dashcam was stolen and the pair had to wait for a lift with no other way of getting home as they were not entitled to a courtesy car because their Ford Focus had to be recovered.

All the side windows were smashed and Mr Matthews was later told by police that half a breeze block had been used to cave the doors in. He said he had also been told by an officer that a two-week old BMW was almost stripped down completely.

Mr Matthews said: “NCP never asked if we needed help. I’m still without a car at the moment.

“Now, I’ve got to pay the excess - they should accept some responsibility. We chose that car park over a cheaper one because we thought it would be secure over the weekend.”

NCP said it had been working closely with the police in conjunction with a recent spate of car crimes that had affected local car parks including NCP.

An NCP spokesperson said: “We are unable to offer compensation to our customers as our terms and conditions clearly state that you park your vehicle at your own risk. We cannot and do not guarantee the security of your vehicle and/or its contents.”

Ian Livesey and his partner, who live in Sheffield, were staying at the The Bradford Hotel for their anniversary when their Vauxhall Insignia was broken into.

Mr Livesey said: “There was nothing stolen from our car, it was just vandalised as there was nothing in it to steal. It’s absolutely vile. The fact they think they can do that to something you work so hard for and it spoiled our anniversary.”

Anyone with information should call Bradford City Neighbourhood Policing Team via 101, quoting crime reference 13180513694.