A terrified Bradford jewellery shop owner refused to give in to the demands of armed robbers when they pointed a gun at him.

The shopkeeper was threatened by one of the occupants of a car which drew up alongside him when he arrived at KV Jewellers on Leeds Road, Laisterdyke, at 10.30am yesterday.

The suspect tried to force him to open the shop at gunpoint but the owner ran off to ring the police and the assailant was driven away empty handed.

Detective Constable Matthew Kennedy, of Bradford South CID, said: "The owner had already opened the front door and deactivated the alarm and was in the process of opening up the security shutters.

"He was approached by the suspect who asked him to go into the shop repeatedly but he saw a handgun and made his escape."

The owner, who is middle-aged, ran down Leeds Road towards Bradford city centre and went into a neighbouring shop to alert others to what was happening.

His shop was still secure and the suspect got into a dark car, believed to be driven by another man, and left in the direction of Laisterdyke.

DC Kennedy said: "This must have been a very frightening experience for the victim who is badly shaken by this ordeal.

"This is quite a busy area and there were people around at the time. If anybody has seen what happened we would encourage them to contact us with information."

Anyone who has information about the attack should call Bradford Central Police helpdesk on (01274) 376459 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.