A jewellery shop owner and his wife were today snatched from their beds at gunpoint by an armed gang and forced to open up their store before being bound, gagged and dumped in a car.

Witnesses who freed the couple said that the owner had been beaten up and had his head covered with brown tape and a bag. His wife had been handcuffed and left in the boot of the car.

The drama began at 4am when the four-strong gang dragged the couple from their bed at their home in Clayton and drove them to the shop on White Abbey Road.

The intruders rifled through the MI Jeweller's store and stole valuables before fleeing.

Police said that the owner suffered a broken arm in the attack and was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary with his wife, who also received treatment.

Trainee hairdresser Sonia Stewart, 38, of Ure Crescent, near White Abbey Road, heard screams outside her house just after 4am.

She said: "I heard people shouting 'Help me I'm tied up, I have been robbed' and saw a silver car on the corner of Jervaulx Crescent.

"I woke my brother Andrew and we called the police.

"The man had blood on his upper body and they were very distressed."

Andrew, 34, a music producer, got dressed and rushed to the BMW to help the screaming couple.

He said: "I could see there was a woman in the boot, which had been left open.

"The man had a white bag over his head, I think he was an Asian man in his 30s. He asked me to take the bag off and his whole face and head was covered with brown tape.

"You could only see his eyes, it was like a tape balaclava. He was handcuffed by his feet.

"The woman in the boot had plastic handcuffs on.

"They were both very traumatised and I was shocked, but they thanked me for helping them."

He added: "The police arrived then and cordoned the area off.

"They told the police they had been kidnapped from their bed. They beat him up and held a shotgun to his wife's head, then took them to the shop.

"Bradford is getting out of control."

Ure Crescent is a stone's throw from where Tasawar Hussain was fatally shot 11 days ago chasing armed robbers on Lumb Lane.

Linda Brookes, of Ure Crescent, said: "I heard somebody shouting they had been robbed but thought I was dreaming.

"I wished I had done something now."

Police cordoned off the jeweller's shop, which is next to Raza Grocers, for forensic examinations.

Ali Raza had not been able to open his grocer's shop because police had cordoned it off at 8am.

He said: "I'm really concerned about what has happened to the owners, that is my first priority. I'm shocked and very worried that there has been a robbery next door.

"You hear about it happening but it really shakes you when it is so close."

Bradford North Police are looking for four Asian men in connection with the robbery.

Anyone with information should contact them on (01274) 376259 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.