It is hardly surprising that the people running their businesses in council-owned premises in Tong Street are feeling beleaguered. They are trying to make a living for themselves and provide the services that residents in the area need, yet at the same time they are having to suffer repeated break-ins.

There is a limit to how many times shopkeepers can endure this sort of crime before they decide that it simply isn't worth it. As they told the T&A, they are at crisis point and feel their livelihoods are at stake.

It is appalling that decent, law-abiding, hard-working people like these should be driven to despair by criminals. Not even shutters seem able to prevent the thieves coming back for more. In the most recent raid on one of the businesses, the shutters were pulled off before the window was smashed.

The shopkeepers claim that they are being neglected by the Council and have missed out on the regeneration and improved security which has helped Holme Wood and Bierley. Their complaints deserve to be taken seriously and every means of improving security investigated.

It might cost a little money to make their premises safer. However, if as a result of repeated break-ins these shops close down, it could prove even more costly in terms of the Tong Street area and Bradford's reputation.

Local people will have to look further afield for the services these business provide. And boarded-up, abandoned premises along one of the main approach roads to the city can do nothing but harm to its future prospects.