A FURIOUS homeowner has spoken out after brazen thieves ransacked his home to swipe the spare keys for his £36,000 Mercedes CLA before driving it away - in broad daylight.

Sales manager Paul Brooker returned to his home on Milman Walk, Apperley Bridge, last Friday afternoon to discover the devastating raid.

Mr Brooker said the culprits were able to destroy the locks on the patio doors - despite the fact they are meant to be tamper proof - before rifling through the house for the keys.

The spare keys for his pregnant partner Emma’s car were also taken, meaning the car has had to be sent away for the locks to be changed.

While the insurance will help to cover some of the costs, they will still have to stump up the £350 excess.

The couple have only lived in the house a matter of months after moving from Harrogate in December last year. Mr Brooker, 38, has spoken out following the raid and believes they were specifically looking for the car keys.

He said the vehicle’s ‘me connect’ system shows the car has been parked in the same place since Friday, but it is not there.

“We are expecting a baby and you think to yourself, we are going to have a kid, do I want to bring a kid up in this type of area, if that’s the sort of thing that’s going on?”

The situation has been made all the more upsetting for Mr Brooker as he used some of the money left to him by his late mother to buy the car back in 2017.

“I work hard, I pay my bills, taxes, I’m a law-abiding citizen.

“I didn’t sleep for the entire weekend. You think, are they going to come back?

“I feel constantly suspicious of people, you are constantly looking when you see groups of people - what are they doing, why are they here?

“It’s awful. I would not wish it on my worst enemy.”

Mr Brooker said the situation has been recurring on a nightly basis in nearby areas, particularly around Idle,Thackley and Wrose, with police seemingly “powerless to do anything”.

He also highlighted an incident on the estate before Christmas when men tried to gain access to cars, including his work car, with remote entry.

Mr Brooker said people need to be aware of what is happening.

Inspector Di Collins, of Bradford East Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This burglary is under investigation and there are a number of enquiries ongoing to identify those responsible and to work to trace and reunite the victim with their stolen car.

"The number of burglary and theft of motor vehicle offences have fallen in the Bradford East area over the last few months.

"There have been eight theft of motor vehicle offences reported between the start of November and end of January and we have four suspects identified and enquiries ongoing in to these. We regularly review such offences to identify any patterns, which includes looking at crimes in surrounding neighbourhood policing areas; but at this time there is nothing to suggest that any particular property or types of vehicle are being targeted in such offences.

“We work with the community to offer crime prevention advice and reassurance and would urge anyone with any particular concerns or information about a particular offence or person involved in this type of crime to please make contact with us.”