A motorist says she is lucky to be alive after a vandal severed a brake pipe on her car.

Yvonne Leach is convinced she was targeted at random and fears somebody could be killed if the vandal strikes again.

Miss Leach, 45, who is registered disabled, only discovered the fault after driving off in her C-registration Ford Fiesta from outside her flat in Windhill, Shipley. She said: "When I got to the end of the road I found I had no brakes whatsoever. Luckily there was an incline and I managed to roll to a stop."

Miss Leach, of Gray Avenue, said: "I could have been killed and so could someone else.

"You could class what they've done as attempted murder.

"If this person strikes again someone could be killed. Maybe people should check their brakes before going out."

She added: "I don't think I've got any enemies and I think my car was just picked at random. It's really frightening to think there's someone out there who's prepared to risk people's lives."

Mechanic John Ashworth, of Charlestown, Baildon, who replaced the severed brake pipe, said: "It looked like it had been cut with a knife .

"Vandalism is bad enough but that sort of thing is lethal. Sooner or later they're going to kill someone.''

Inspector Nigel Cawthorne, of Shipley police, said: "Luckily it's very unusual but it's a very dangerous thing to do.

"Our inquiries are continuing and if anyone saw anything suspicious we'd like to hear from them.''

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.