A garage owner is under siege from burglars who have targeted his business nine times in 49 days.

John Cooper has spent £3,000 on security measures after the raids at the Bowling Bridge Service Station off Wakefield Road, Bradford.

Only two of the nine raids have been successful but Mr Cooper has still been left £2,500 out of pocket after cigarettes and phone cards were stolen.

Mr Cooper, 52, said he was forced to spend the night sleeping in the fortified garage after the latest break-in during the Easter Bank Holiday.

Thieves escaped with £2,000 of cigarettes after smashing through aluminium shutters and a plate glass window at 11.15pm on Saturday. But to Mr Cooper's horror six hours later he was confronted by a man who climbed in through the broken window.

He said: "I had to sleep in the store as I couldn't get it secured for the night. At about 5.15am on the Sunday morning I was sleeping behind the counter and I heard a noise.

"The next thing was I heard voices and I stood up and there was this bloke standing on the other side of the counter. I asked him what he was doing but he just stayed really calm."

Police later arrested a man.

"My grandfather started this business in 1939 and me and my brother have run it for 30 years but this is the worst run of burglaries we've had," said Mr Cooper.

Detective Inspector Chris Binns, of Bradford South CID, said: "We are working closely with the garage owner to improve security but he has done a tremendous amount already to secure his premises."

Anyone with any information should call Bradford South police helpdesk on 01274 376459.