A mother of two young children says late-night drinkers using her garden as a shortcut have turned it into a hazardous waste ground.

The syringes, beer bottles and empty cans which litter the back garden of Debborah Roe, of Lower Grange, have imprisoned her children in their home because she is too scared to let them play in the mess.

The Bradford Council tenant says the lazy late-night louts squeeze through a gap in her fence on Marmion Avenue which has been there since she moved in last June, despite repeated requests to the Bell Dean housing office for repair work.

But a spokesman for the Council said although Mrs Roe, 25, was a tenant, Wimpey Homes was responsible for the fence as it owned the land.

Mrs Roe, whose children are aged one and two, said: "I've seen people cutting through my garden in daylight to get to the footpath.

"And it's not like they're children. It's adults who should know better."

She said the problems began three months ago when a neighbouring house became empty, leaving people free to cut across the property.

Mrs Roe added: "They leave all sorts of things in the garden and if I'm by myself, especially in the late evening, it's very scary seeing these people.

"I'm just getting a bit fed up with it. I want my children to be able to play in their back garden in the summer. Right now there's no chance of that happening."

A spokesman for the Council's housing department said it had already repaired one fence and would return to check if further work was needed.

A spokesman for McLean Homes Ridings Ltd, which has taken over the regional arm of Wimpey Homes, said: "If it is the case that we own the land and the fence is our responsibility we will deal with it.