A Baildon man has launched a campaign to get vandalised lights on a secluded pathway repaired.

Mr Paul Gibson, 54, a retired British Gas worker, has criticised Bradford Council for failing to replace the broken lights on a stretch of path through Baildon woodland which he says poses a danger to women walking at night.

Mr Gibson, of Rylstone Road, said all eight of the lights attached to trees that line the pathway between Salts Grammar School and Prod Lane are either smashed or missing.

Mr Gibson, who walks the pathway regularly, added: "It's absolutely pitch black down there. You literally can't see a thing. It does feel a little intimidating walking up there in the dark.

"My daughter used to go to Salts Grammar but if she was still there I wouldn't be very happy about her walking home up the path on her own."

Mr Gibson said he contacted Bradford Council's street lighting department nine months ago but they said it would be too expensive to replace the lights.

"They say that if they put the lights back up then they will just be vandalised again. But if they put them high enough up I don't see any reason why they should be.''

Mick Leak, owner of the Shipley Glen Tramway, that runs alongside the path, said: "I think it's a disgrace that it has been neglected so much by Bradford Council when people like myself work so hard to bring tourists into the area. Vandals have stretched the lights cables across the pathway at head height. It could be very dangerous. I won't walk up there now.''

Councillor John Cole (Lib, Baildon) said: "I think the path needs to be far better lit and Mr Gibson has hit on a worthwhile campaign. People are reluctant to use the pathway at night."

Teacher governor Sue Foster said she always made sure children were escorted home and never went up the path on their own. "What is the point of having a path if it's not safe for young folk and the elderly to use it?"

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: "Unfortunately every time we replace the lighting, vandals climb the trees and rip down the overhead wires.

"We have had several meetings over the last few years with headteachers and the police but the problem continues.

"Pupils are advised by their schools not to use the footpath through the wood."

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