A mother today said she feared for the safety of her children after police took four days to arrive following threats of a knife attack on her daughter.

Clare Beetham, 30, spoke of her frustration and claimed she is still waiting for an official apology from Keighley police.

She said daughter Danielle, 12, a pupil at Bingley Grammar School, was threatened by a man after an argument with some girls near her home in The Oval, Gilstead.

"It's disgusting and so frustrating," said the home care assistant.

"My daughter was so upset and is too scared to go out alone after what happened.

"It's shook her up and the worse thing is that it looks as though the police just didn't care - what if she had been badly injured?"

The couple phoned the police after the incident but after three days they still had not received a visit from officers.

Mr Beetham, 37, finally went to Keighley police station to make a statement and said he was told he would receive a visit. An officer returned the next day - four days after the initial incident.

Mrs Beetham and husband Steven, a building contractor, have now written an official complaint to Keighley police.

"It's just not good enough. We have a station in Bingley but it's not open to the public so we have to go into Keighley," said Mrs Beetham.

The couple, who have two other daughters Dominique, 13, and 11-year-old Rebecca, have also won the support of Labour MP Chris Leslie who said he would be looking into the matter.

A police spokesman apologised for the delay and said it was because of the force's "finite number of resources".

"Mrs Beetham's complaint will be investigated but it's not appropriate to comment further until this has been dealt with," he said.

Pictured: Danielle and mum Claire