A man was brutally attacked with an axe by vicious robbers as he took his life-savings of £30,000 to a bank.

The victim, believed to be in his 40s, was dragged out of his car by two men as he drew up outside the NatWest in Manningham Lane, Bradford, to deposit the cash.

The robbers, believed to be aged about 19, held him to the ground and attacked him with the axe yesterday afternoon.

Witnesses said the pair then calmly walked off along Grosvenor Road with the cash.

The victim, an Asian man who has not been identified by police, suffered a deep wound to the back of his head and lesser cuts to his face and lips.

Despite his injuries he was able to use his mobile phone to call police who raced to the scene.

He was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary where x-rays also revealed he had suffered a broken nose.

Police cordoned off the area where the victim had been attacked next to his red Volkswagen Passat.

One witness, an 18-year-old builder, who was working on the roof of the bank, said: "The man was in his car when he was pulled out by two men. He was shouting. I thought they were messing about.

"They held him to the floor and were hitting him with something.

"He had a bust nose and lip and a big cut on the back of his head where they had hit him. They were about 19 years old and white. Then they just jaunted up the road like nothing had happened."

The witness, who did not want to be named, said he had gone to help the victim following the attack which took place at about 2.30pm.

Detective Sergeant Bob Iles, of Bradford North CID, was among the first officers on the scene. He said: "A man was taking some money to the bank and got robbed. There are conflicting descriptions of the two men from different people.

"It is a nasty incident and fortunately the victim does not seem to have received serious injuries."

Police have appealed for witnesses or anyone with information about the identities of the robbers to call PC Sam Hollings on 0845 6060606.