A woman and her children were abducted and held hostage at gunpoint by a bogus house hunter.

The man had made an appointment with Whitegates estate agents to view Marilyn Rowell's detached home in Horsforth.

After a tour of the house he asked the owner to drive him to a nearby hotel so he could collect his wife and show her the property.

Mrs Rowell agreed and got into the family Volvo estate car with her two youngest children Gabby, 11, and Gregory, eight, and her friend Mrs Dawn Birks.

They had only driven a few yards when the man, who was in the front passenger seat, pulled out a gun.

He demanded money and forced Mrs Rowell to drive to her workplace in Horsforth. The children and Mrs Birks were held hostage in the car while she fetched money from a petty-cash tin.

He threatened them with the gun and ordered to be taken to a bed-and-breakfast in Headingley, Leeds, to collect his suitcase.

After the pick-up the man fired a shot into the floor of the car and told Mrs Rowell to drive him to Burley railway station, Leeds.

As they approached the station he ordered them out of the car and drove off in the white Volvo 940 estate.

The terrified family ran to a nearby house and phoned for help.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which began at 8.40pm on Wednesday. The man is described as smartly dressed, in his 50s, and wearing a cream suit. He claimed to be from Surrey.

Roger Ellison, regional director for the North East Whitegates, said: "We are obviously shocked.

"In my 25 years' experience this is the first time something of this nature has happened.

"Obviously we are assisting the police with their inquiries.''

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