Bradford Council today came under fire from a conservation body over plans to make it easier to close public footpaths to keep criminals at bay.

The Council is considering asking the Government to allow it to close some rights of way in the Little Horton Policing Priority Area on the grounds of public safety.

But the Open Spaces Society, Britain's oldest national conservation body, has criticised the plan.

The society's general secretary, Kate Ashbrook, said they had told the Council they had seen no evidence that public paths in the area were causing crime problems.

And she warned that closing the paths would lead to an increase in crime because people would not be able to use them legitimately and could not act as "eyes and ears."

She said: "The Council must satisfy the Secretary of State that there are rights of way that are demonstrable causes of a persistent crime problem and realistic alternative options to tackle the causes of problems have been examined. We have no evidence of either.

"These paths are of vital importance, enabling people to walk to local shops and schools and make short cuts away from the danger and smell of traffic.

"The answer is to ensure that the paths are well lit and welcoming so that people are encouraged to use them and feel safe doing so.

"How will the people of Little Horton feel about being in an area specially designated for its crime problems? Property prices will plummet and the residents will be stigmatised. Bradford Council can hardly feel proud about that."

The society's local representative, Geoffrey Barker, said the Little Horton scheme was one of only five in the country.

He said: "It is at a very early stage but I believe councillors have seized an opportunity which is available under the new Act.

"The area covers most of Little Horton and there are a lot of tiny footpaths in that area."

Danny Jackson, the Council's Countryside and Rights of Way Manager, said the council had a duty to protect public rights of way, but also had a key responsibility for community safety.

He said that, based on police evidence, the authority was considering making an application to the Government, under the new Countryside and Rights of way Act, to close certain rights of way in the Little Horton Policing Priority Area.

He added: "Any action would only affect a very small number of public rights of way and the vast majority of public pathways would be unaffected.

"Individual rights of way would only be considered for closure where there is strong police evidence of crime and there is local support for a closure.

"The Open Spaces Society has been consulted by the Council, in line with Government guidance. Under the legislation, individual orders on specific routes will need to be drawn up and the local community would be consulted."