A Bradford factory boss is threatening to move his business to Pudsey if Gipsy caravans are not removed from his firm's car park.

Allan Hunter, boss at the H-Group, says six caravans are parked on his car park in Blanche Street, Laisterdyke, near the hi-tech precision engineering factory.

"This is supposed to be hi-tech city but Gipsy caravans parked on this street will not give that impression when bosses from the aerospace industry visit my firm this week.

"If this problem is not dealt with then I will relocate my business to Pudsey where we will not have the same difficulties."

Mr Hunter brought the H-Group to Bradford from Holbeck in Leeds a year ago when it took over T. Bowers precision engineers.

He appealed to Bradford Council and the police to move the Gipsies on very quickly.

"People have a right to live and we are quite happy for them to live in this way but it does not look good on my business," he added.

The H-Group moved into the precision engineering factory a year ago when it bought the business from former owners. It has a staff off 30 making precision engineering tools for big firms such as Lucas, Vickers and David Brown aerospace divisions.

"I am new to this area but I am told there was a Gipsy problem before. This is not a beautiful area as we have a view of the gas works, but we can live with that," he added.

Alan Phillips, manufacturing manager at Brook Cutting Tools Ltd, which shares the car park with H Group, said: "It's frustrating. It means that employees of this firm have nowhere to park their cars."

Mr Phillips said he was looking into possible actions to move the Gipsies off the car park.

A spokesman for Bradford Council's Gipsy Liaison Unit said: "We have advised the companies concerned on the options available to them and we will be monitoring the site while the Gipsies are there."

lA group of Gipsies were still encamped on a strip of land owned by British Gas, on Valley Road in Bradford, today despite attempts by the company to persuade them to leave the site. The six caravans set up base on the land opposite Forster Square Retail Park at the end of last week. Staff and site security personnel from British Gas plc property division have been liaising with the gypsies to try and reach a solution.

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