Officers from a West Yorkshire Tactical Firearms Team surrounded the address on Cross Flatts Avenue.

But the gunman was not located and the operation was called off later in the day.

The drama was sparked by a car theft and subsequenADVERTISEMENTt pursuit two days earlier in which the thief fired a gun three times to frighten the owner of the car and then escaped a second time by grabbing his pursuer's vehicle.

The thief had earlier turned up at a home in Eightlands Lane, Bramley, at about 4.50pm on Saturday and asked to view a silver VW Golf which was for sale.

After he had inspected the vehicle it is believed that the ignition keys to the Golf were handed over. But when the stranger jumped into the car, he roared away into the late afternoon sun without any warning.

The astonished owner quickly gathered his senses and jumped into a friend's red VW Golf and set off in pursuit.

The red Golf chased the stolen Golf along Stanningley Road, Armley, and boxed the thief in at traffic lights near to a KFC takeaway restaurant.

At that point the owner of the stolen Golf remonstrated with the thief, who then jumped out and fired two shots from an unidentified gun.

The gunman then threatened the owner of the silver Golf and got behind the wheel of the red VW and drove off - but not before firing a third warning shot.

One unconfirmed report stated that the gunman is of Asian origin.

The red Golf he escaped in was recovered about an hour and a half after the shooting and was partially burned-out in Norman Mount, Kirkstall.

Today detectives from North West Leeds CID appealed for anyone with information about the incident, in particular any person who saw the red Golf being abandoned, to ring them on 00845 6060606.