A FATHER has described the terrifying moments an angry axe-wielding gang stormed his street, lunging at cars in their way.

Mobeen Razzaq, 29, said he feared for his young family's life during the attack outside his home in Cross Lane, Great Horton.

Children were playing in the street and one woman was in her front garden as the gang ran along the street during the afternoon rampage.

At least two cars are thought to have suffered damage after being struck by an axe.

Unemployed Mr Razzaq, who has a ten-day-old son, said he had to shout at his wife to shut the front door after she opened it to see what all the noise was about.

"She didn't realise until she opened it and saw these angry men hacking away at the cars with strong axes. It was terrifying. I shouted at her to slam it quick," he said.

"They just appeared from nowhere. They were angry and shouting. I couldn't understand what they were saying. They were just striking out at anything that got in their way. Thank God no one was out there at the time."

Mr Razzaq reported it immediately to police who asked if there was any CCTV.

"I told them I thought the house opposite might have some and they said they would come to see me but no one has been yet," he added.

He said the gang, a mix of Asian and black men all aged between 20 and 25, had come from the main part of Cross Lane and had gone back the same way.

"We have no enemies and we have not upset anyone. Neither has my neighbour. We have no idea why this happened but think they could have been chasing someone or have got us mixed up with someone else they were looking for. That's a worry. We are scared now," said Mr Razzaq, who has lived in Cross Lane for 18 months.

"I'm worried for our safety, for my wife and young baby in case they come again."

His wife, Mariam, 27, said: "I heard a noise and when I opened the door there was a man with an axe in his hand.

"I thought it must be gangs fighting each other. I was very frightened."

The couple's baby was woken up by the noise during the incident at around 3.15pm on Wednesday.

Mr Razzaq said the damage to his Renault Megane's bonnet - which now has a deep axe-shaped groove - would cost him more than £100 to fix.

Police are investigating the incident and are trying to trace CCTV, said a police spokesman.

He added: "He (Mr Razzaq) reported to us there were five men in his street with what he first thought were metal sticks then said could have been axes. His car was damaged but did not mention any other car. We are trying to get CCTV and have left him two messages."

Neighbours of Mr Razzaq, who did not want to be named, said they were not surprised to hear what had happened.

One man, who is in his 50s, said a neighbour had told him about the axe attack.

"She was sitting in her garden when she heard a great big bang. She saw a lad with an axe in his hand. He was just carrying it. She was shaking as she told me the story," he said.

A 65-year-old woman said the attack, which she did not witness, brought back awful memories of an axe attack on her husband 16 years ago which happened close by.

"I'm not surprised to hear what's happened. We get gangs down here at night and we get a lot of anti-social behaviour, vandalism and theft. This latest incident isn't out of the ordinary but for it to happen during the day is quite intimidating and disconcerting," she said.

The attack on her husband, now 65, left him with a depressed skull fracture. No-one was ever caught, she said.

"This latest attack did bring to mind what happened to my husband. It was unprovoked; they just wanted money."

She said life on Cross Lane had changed for the worse in recent years.

"It's not nice around here any more. I have lived here 40 years and it isn't anything like it used to be. We use the term 'rent and wreck' for the people who move in."

One resident, speaking last night, said racism was also a problem for some neighbours.

"My neighbour was called a 'white b*tch'. What happened yesterday isn't unexpected around here to tell you the truth," he said.

A 16-year-old, revealed that he had been kicked and punched by a gang of around three teenagers on Cross Lane one Saturday afternoon last year. He wasn't badly hurt.

Anyone who saw anything suspicious in Cross Lane around the time of axe attack incident should call police on the non-emergency number 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.