A 22-year-old from Little Horton is celebrating a phenomenally successful first four years in the haulage industry.

David James Reed set up ATR Transport when he was just 19 after spotting a large gap in the market for self-loading trucks.

Buying his first vehicle with the help of a £1,500 loan from his parents, Mr Reed now runs a fleet of 11 HGVs and has a seven-strong team of drivers.

And with contracts coming in from across the United Kingdom and beyond, ATR is now pulling in a turnover of more than £500,000 a year.

Proud father Tony Reed said: "We are all flabbergasted by his achievements which, for his age, make him a real whizzkid, I suppose. He saw a niche in the market and just went for it, and it's really paid off.

He added: ''Now he's moving into the Irish and European markets, too, so things are just moving along at an amazing speed."

Mr Reed junior has kept his family involved in the business and hopes his brother, Jonathan, will become a great asset to the company after completing his business studies course at Bradford College.

This week ATR, which has built up strong relationships with local firms like Solaglas and Leeds Galvanising Co, bought two new top-of-the-range Volvo Globetrotters, worth £65,000 each, to help keep up with the rising demand.

The Reeds celebrated their arrival, and David's incredible success story, with a party at The Venue - the family pub which backs on to ATR's yard.