Angry shoppers who have struggled up stairs at a major city centre car park since January have been told they must suffer another week without a lift.

The trouble began at the 440 space Westgate multi-storey car park when the lift broke down four months ago.

The Council decided it was not value for money to repair it because a new lift was being built nearby as part of the £4.5 million redevelopment of John Street market.

But people say they have been told week after a week that it is about to open - and it remains closed.

Chairman of Bradford Retail Action Group, Jeff Frankel, said: "This is the fifth date we have been given, so don't hold your breath.

"At first we expected the new lift to be ready last November, when the work on the market was expected to finish. Then it was expected to be the middle of January. We've been given so many reasons we can't even remember them any more.

"The people of Bradford must be very weary and tired judging from the length of time this has been going on."

He said traders had been flooded with complaints as shoppers struggled with bags and children to reach their cars.

A notice in the car park saying the Council 'regrets the inconvenience' has even been scribbled over with the words: "No, you're not."

But joy when the new lift was completed on Monday turned to frustration as motorists were again told they still could not use it.

Mr Frankel said: "It has been an absolute fiasco and nobody believes it anymore."

A spokesman for Bovis Lend Lease, managing contractors for the scheme, said the Council was now in the process of installing in-house cameras and an intercom system for security.

She said the lift would also have further checks to comply with health and safety regulation and it was expected to open within the next week.