A Stokesley garage owner this week demanded to know why police failed to attend a 999 call.

A lone mechanic at the PHV garage working late on Tuesday night was terrified when he heard and saw two intruders smashing locks with crow bars.

He locked himself in the office and rang 999 and then rang owner Paul Hughlock who immediately drove to the garage, only to find the men had gone and there was no sign of the police.

On Wednesday Mr Hughlock, whose garage is on Stokesley industrial estate, claimed it was 13 hours before an officer actually attended.

The raid happened at about 7pm on Tuesday and Mr Hughlock later discovered the police had called back and left a crime telephone number for him to call.

At the time, two officers were attending a fire in Great Ayton but Mr Hughlock claimed ratepayers were not getting sufficient police cover.

He believed hardened criminals were getting away with multiple crimes, as police officers pursued "soft-target" motorists.

"I called the Northallerton control centre at 8.30pm and said I wanted to speak to a supervisor but there was none on duty for this area," he said.

"That was the situation until Wednesday afternoon. They simply don't have cover for major incidents around Stokesley."

He said a police officer who visited him on Wednesday sympathised with him and passed on his comments.

"But anything could have happened on Tuesday night. Those burglars could have got hold of the mechanic. Even if the police had telephoned back, they could have pretended everything was fine."

Mr Hughlock paid £10,000 in business rates per year but saw no evidence of adequate local policing.

He was not attacking rank-and-file officers, but said police management and resources were allocated wrongly.

"This is the third time we've had a poor response. We've been broken into various times, the latest was three weeks ago. The police know this but there's no proper provision at Stokesley."

Security at the Land Rover and Range Rover garage was being further strengthened and the fence repaired. The intruders used equipment taken from nearby building sites.

On Wednesday, a North Yorkshire police spokesman said the mechanic had not suggested any imminent danger. The seriousness was not apparent until Mr Hughlock's call.

"Initially, there was no mention of threats. The first caller said two males were on the premises but was unable to give descriptions.

"Later, the manager contacted us. An officer visited him on Wednesday morning when he referred to a threat. We checked the initial tape recording and there was no mention of threats."