An estate agent told today how he feared he would be killed by robbers who swung an axe around his head and then held a gun to his temple.

Zaffar Tanweer said he thought "my life was over" when the two robbers burst in with a gun and an axe and demanded cash.

Mr Tanweer, the manager of City & Provincial estate agent's in Great Horton, said the raiders screamed abuse at him and demanded he opened a safe under his desk - but it was the office shredder.

"They were getting more and more aggressive, screaming and swearing at me. They wouldn't listen to me. I tried to tell them it was a shredder - not the safe," the father-of-four said. "One held the gun at my head while the other lashed out with an axe - if I hadn't moved back it would have cut my head off. I'm sure of it. I thought my life was over.

"The man with the axe then whacked it down inches away from me right though a pile of papers and stuck it in my desk.

"At that point I took them over to the front counter and opened the cash drawer. He tried to axe me again. If I'd lost my cool and struggled or panicked, I'd have been finished."

The look-out at the door passed over a carrier bag to the armed men and they tried to empty the small amount of cash in to it before running off from the All Saint's Road estate agents and heading along Turner Place.

They also snatched the BMW car keys of a shocked client who was in the office at the time.

Receptionist Carol Simpson, 29, had been making tea when the raiders rushed in but hid in the kitchen until they'd gone.

"I was rigid with fear. I thought they were on drugs, they were going wild - it was horrific," she said.

Both Mr Tanweer and Miss Simpson were back at work today as normal.

Mr Tanweer said: "I wouldn't wish that experience on my worst enemy. We've been here since 1985 and if these thugs think they can force us out then they're wrong."

Detective Sergeant Dave McHugh, of Bradford Central police, said there was a possibility the suspects were local to the area.

He appealed for witnesses who may have seen the youths around the junction of All Saint's Road and Turner Place at 11.38am yesterday.

"Someone must have seen these youths at this time of day at what is a busy junction of a main road," he said. "It is a serious crime that has occurred and it has been very difficult for this complainant to deal with. There is no doubt that they were subjected to a vicious attack."

The three men were all Asian. The man with the gun was aged between 20 and 25, 5ft 8ins tall, slim with a local accent.

He had a piece of dark material masking his face and was wearing a black, cotton casual jacket.

The man with the axe was aged between 20 and 22, 5ft 8ins, skinny, had brown eyes and a long face with pale skin and spoke with a local accent.

He was wearing a grey casual jacket with the hood up and the drawstring fastened tightly around his face.

The third man was aged between 20 and 23, 5ft 6ins, slim with short dark brown hair. He was wearing a grey casual jacket with similar trousers.

Anyone with information should contact police on (01274) 376485 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.