A GAS company has been asked by councillors not to return to a Bradford village "until well into 2015" after causing "mess and inconvenience" for residents.

Councillor Geoff Reid said Northern Gas Networks (NGN) engineers left a site in Eccleshill in an unsuitable state after being called away to an emergency incident in the middle of work being done in the village.

Now, he wants NGN to leave it a while before returning to the site - which is on Moorside Road between Pullan Avenue and Stone Hall Road - to carry out the remainder of the work they started.

"Given that the frustrated, and sometimes angry, residents had to put up with mess and inconvenience for two to three weeks without any progress being made on the gas main, we feel that they deserve a bit of consideration in terms of the eventual date of renovations," said Cllr Reid.

"If things were going to happen with ice on the ungritted side roads this would be a very difficult situation. I hope that someone has worked that out, but as Councillors we felt it right to request that renovations be resumed in much better weather.

"Anyone looking around Eccleshill at the moment will realise that there is plenty of other work in progress for NGN to be getting on with. We seem to have reached a peak in gas, electricity and water works.

"The one consolation for residents is the very good road surface that NGN left after filling in the holes!"

Cllr Reid added: "The top of Moorside Road is very narrow and because of parked cars there are always parts where one-way traffic is essential. NGN dug holes in preparation for gas main renovations but were pulled off site to an emergency elsewhere. The barriers around the holes were not strong enough to survive strong winds, creating danger for pedestrians.

"Meanwhile drivers from side streets, once they had carefully negotiated any obstacles getting onto Moorside Road, were faced with a detour if they wished to head in the direction of the road closure barrier.

"In due course NGN came and filled the holes in and said they would leave the job 'until next year'."

A spokesman for NGN said: "At Northern Gas Networks we value the feedback we receive from our stakeholders and customers.

"We are currently planning and reviewing our proposed work for 2015 including the essential gas main improvements in Moorside Road, and our planning team will be contacting Cllr Reid in due course to discuss ways in which we can reduce disruption and inconvenience to residents in the town.

"The Eccleshill project is part of Northern Gas Networks' ongoing development of infrastructure across the north of England and involves replacing existing metallic gas main with more durable plastic pipes to ensure the continued safe and reliable supply of gas to our customers in the area for years to come.

"We would like to take this opportunity to apologise in advance for any inconvenience this essential work may cause and thank members of the public for their patience and support."