Angry residents say joyriders have turned their cul-de-sac into a dumping ground for burned-out, sto

Now householders are demanding action to stop them getting on to Gondal Court on Bradford's Canterbury estate.

Maria Houston, 39, a member of Gondal Court's residents' association, said: "We've had at least a dozen cars dumped and set on fire here over the last six months - two in the past fortnight.

"The joyriders have basically turned it into a dumping ground. It was a lovely little street but it looks more like a war zone now and we're just absolutely fed up with it.

"It's only a small road with 25 houses, so, for its size, it must be the worst in Bradford for this problem.

"Everyone gets on well with each other and it should be a nice quiet little cul-de-sac, but most people just want to move out now because the joyriders are ruining it.

"They come racing up the cul-de-sac, at all times of the day and night, turn round and then speed back down again - it's like a racetrack.

"There are a lot of young children who play on the street and we're afraid someone's going to end up being killed if it doesn't stop.''

Miss Houston said they planned to draw up a petition calling for speed bumps to be installed on Gondal Court, or the access from Ringwood Road, and the rest of the estate to be closed and replaced by a road linking it to South Street.

Councillor Sher Khan (Lab, Little Horton) said: "People are coming to the estate from other areas, dumping cars there and setting fire to them. The residents are just sick of it.

"They probably won't get speed bumps because it's a cul-de-sac, but we would support them in trying to get the end of the road closed off to stop these people getting in.''

A spokesman for Odsal Fire Station said Gondal Court was one of several hot spots where stolen cars were being dumped and torched.

He said of the 350 calls responded to by Odsal firefighters during April, 43 had been for vehicle fires, three of which involved incidents on Gondal Court or the nearby Ringwood Road.