Don't fence us in is the message from residents who are up in arms about a wooden barrier erected next to their homes.

Residents backing on to the new Ingrow House complex for the elderly, in Keighley, are furious about an ugly new wooden fence erected around the site.

They say the 2.1 metre high construction -- just yards from their homes -- looks shabby and blocks out their view.

Householders have also questioned why the more attractive black metal fence around the front of the £2.5 million development on Staveley Road could not be extended around the whole development.

Doris Davey, 48, from Bracken Road, said: "I came home last Friday to what can only be described as a 7ft pallet stuck right outside our kitchen window.

"We can understand that they need security but why does it have to be so ugly? At the front of the home there is a lovely wall with railings, so why do we have to suffer this monstrosity?

"When the previous home was there, which housed delinquent teenagers, they did not feel the need to fence them in like this," she added.

"We have already lost a wonderful view of the Worth Valley due to the size of the building but we were prepared to live with that because, after all, it's going to be an old people's home.

"The only reason we can think of why they've done this is because they've run out of money."

Mrs Davey said residents along Bracken Road were also concerned about the widening of the path between the rear of their properties and the fence.

She added: "Before it was just a narrow path but now it has been widened you could drive a car up there.

"Unless the council is going to put some bollards up we could have a real security problem because it could be used as a rat run."

The new joint development by Bradford Council and Housing 21 -- which replaces the 30-year-old Ingrow Green home -- will provide 40 one bedroom flats and a day care centre for elderly residents.

A spokesman for Housing 21, which is responsible for the fence, said no formal complaints had been received from residents.

But it invites anyone with concerns to write to business project manager John Timms, at 1 Staithgate Lane, Odsal, Bradford BD6 1YA.