The owner of a Keighley model shop this week joined the row over a ban on model powerboats using Keighley Tarn.

Bob Horrell fears for his livelihood and believes Bradford council is waging a vendetta against modellers. He fears that the council's countryside service will eventually ban all model boats as animals return to the tarn.

An island was built as a wildlife sanctuary three years ago, and following a new round of improvements the lake could be restocked with fish.

Mr Horrell says: "Over the past few years they've classed people who use the tarn for model boats as hooligans, vandals and thugs.

"We've had various battles with them over our models. They treat model aircraft as a nerd and anorak hobby."

Mr Horrell says model boat users operate to a strict code of practice and treat wildlife that use the tarn with care.

"We are eco-friendly and ours is a legitimate activity," he adds.

The row blew up earlier this month when members of Keighley Model Engineering Society discovered a sign at the tarn banning use by noisy models.

Countryside chief Danny Jackson told the Keighley News that the ban did not apply to quiet models, such as yachts and battery-powered boats.

And it may be lifted for all models if residents, tarn visitors and nature lovers agree to noisy boats being used at pre-arranged times.

Mr Horrell is angry that countryside officers imposed the ban without consulting modellers or putting the decision before a council committee.

He says: "They're trying to do things without authority. Keighley Tarn is a civic amenity and it's being eroded. I've been using it for 40 years.

"The sanctuary has been there two or three years and wildlife is increasing. The animals have no problem with the powerboats because we've been there all the time."

The tarn was used by skaters at least 150 years, ago and between the world wars boating was a regular occurrence. Model boaters have used the tarn for several decades, either individually or for club regattas, and the world championships were held there in 1974.

The tarn is currently closed as contractors spend six weeks repairing the footpath and bank, resurfacing the car park and providing new picnic tables and drains. By the end of the £50,000 improvement project, Mr Jackson hopes to have thrashed out a permanent agreement with model powerboat boats owners.