Entrepreneur Michael Henderson was bursting with excitement as he counted down the last days to the launch of his first business venture.

But his dreams were soon shattered when a year's worth of work was snatched away from him during a burglary at his new business in Bradford.

Criminals ransacked and flooded his office at Napoleon Business Park, Wakefield Road, taking a £750 computer and destroying business files and irreplaceable contacts.

Mr Henderson, 46, had toiled hard for a year to get the Lottery-funded recruiting business, Calling All, off the ground, only to suffer a huge set back weeks before the launch of the first publication.

The trade magazine, listing more than 100 household jobs, was to be distributed to tradesmen across the district.

Mr Henderson of New Cross Street, West Bowling, said: "I had over a year's hard work taken away from me. The office was a mess. There was two to three inches of water, the windows had been smashed. They had ripped the radiator of the wall and soaked all my papers.

"This has set me back a whole month. I was near the end and ready to publish on June 21."

Mr Henderson will now have to remember as much as he can from memory and start from scratch in other areas before his bi-monthly classified publication can be launched.

The full-time carer for children with cerebral palsy, decided to set up the business after noticing a shortage of tradesmen to undertake household jobs.

Mr Henderson said: "I got the idea through my own frustration of being unable to get tradesmen to help me around the house. It's just too time consuming to look for electrician or plumbers these days. People who need jobs doing can call me now and I'll pass it to traders."

Police confirmed the incident took place between June 4 and 6 and urged anyone with information to contact them on on Bradford (01274) 376459.