A Bradford lorry driver has blamed the British army for leaving him stranded on the edge of war-torn Macedonia.

Trucker Mick Rhodes has been forced to live in his cab as he seeks a safe route home from the Balkans.

The army have told him it is too dangerous to escort him back through Macedonia or on through Kosovo to get to Greece to get home to Britain

And despite delivering tank parts and personal supplies to the British army, he claims its top brass have done nothing to try to help him.

He has been left in a car park in neighbouring Kosovo for two weeks - and today he should have been home celebrating his son Brano's sixth birthday.

Mr Rhodes, of Wyke, claims the army have said it is too dangerous for their troops - operating under the United Nations' KFOR (Kosovan Force) peace-keeping banner - to escort them to safety.

The Macedonians have closed their border to civilians after bitter skirmishes between security forces and Macedonian Albanians who want more influence and increasing use of their native language.

The crisis has already seen two European Union observers killed after their car was blown up by a landmine.

Former Red Cross aid driver Mr Rhodes, 40, said he and 13 other drivers had no way of getting past the blockade - unless the army helped.

"I'm tired, fed-up, and hot, I just want to get out of here," the furious father-of-two said.

"I can't believe we're being treated like this when we've come here to bring our lads the supplies they need.We've been left high and dry. Some of the lads are having real problems missing their families - there's one guy whose wife is pregnant and he's desperate to get home for the birth but he's stuck here. It's going to be hard for me not being at my son's birthday," Mr Rhodes said.

"We've asked if we can go North and find another route home but the army won't let us. The military aren't prepared to escort us through the border or guarantee us safe passage. How much longer are they going to keep us here?

"The worst thing is they never tell you what's going on. You never know when you will be able to go home or what's happening on the border.

"I was here with the Red Cross at the height of the war but it was never as bad as this."

Mr Rhodes said the drivers did have access to the army's shower facilities and cook-house but claimed they had been threatened with being kicked out of the military camp if they continued to complain about not being able to go home.

To get home safely the drivers need to cross into Macedonia and travel through Albania, Greece, Italy, Germany and Belgium before reaching the UK.

Mr Rhodes' wife, Zorica, 40, whom he met while they were both helping the Red Cross in the Bosnian town of Banja Luca, said she hoped her husband would soon be home. Mrs Rhodes, pictured with her husband, said:

"We're all missing him. My son is really missing him because he promised he would be here for his birthday but that's not going to happen.

"He's been all over Bosnia before so danger is not something that worries him. But he can't stay still for a minute, he always has to be doing something, so I bet he's climbing the walls stuck in his truck."

A spokesman for the Macedonian Republic Embassy, said that Mr Rhodes should have no problems crossing the border if his passage were guaranteed by KFOR.

She said: "You should ask KFOR why this man is not being allowed to leave. The border is not open to civilians but it is open to all diplomats and representatives of KFOR. If KFOR guarantee his passage he will be allowed to leave. This man's problem is with KFOR not with the Macedonian Republic."

But a spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said KFOR was doing all they could to allow Mr Rhodes and the other stranded drivers to leave.

He said: "There have been some problems with the border not being open and I'm sure the drivers appreciate it is a very sensitive situation out there.

"I want to stress that every effort is being made through diplomatic channels to get the border open.

"They are being looked after by KFOR and if any of the drivers urgently need to return home KFOR will fly them home. I know it is difficult when they have their trucks with them but KFOR will look after the trucks until they can return for them.

"It is a very sensitive situation and we would ask the drivers to be patient. We have to be careful that our actions don't further complicate what is a delicate situation in that part of the Balkans."

A spokesman for Mr Rhodes' employers, Wigan-based freight firm Warisa, who are contracted by the MOD to transport military goods to the troubled zone, today refused to comment on their driver's plight.

This is not the first time Mr Rhodes's journeys have hit problems.

In 1997 the lorry driver ploughed his way through a French lorry blockade after being stuck for 12 hours at the French-Italian border by striking French truckers.