Kerb crawlers propositioning students have forced the setting up of a safety minibus service.

The "U-bus" provides a lifeline - taking students from late lectures or library sessions direct to their door free of charge.

And student union leaders are now calling on Bradford's businesses to pitch in with cash donations to keep it on the road.

"The minibus is vital, especially in the winter when it is dark and it is not safe for people to be wandering around late at night," said Jenny Larden, Women's Officer at Bradford Student Union.

Keeping the 17-seater bus driven by volunteers on the go costs the Student Union about £15,000 a year - cheap at half the price for the security it offers, said Ms Larden.

Like any city centre campus, Bradford has had its share of attacks on male and female students.

But Longside Lane, where the Student Union is based, is particularly blighted by the spill over from the nearby red light district.

Ms Larden said: "We have had students that have come in very distressed because they have been kerb crawled."

The bus runs between 5 and 10.30pm on weekdays for male and female students, although priority is given to women.

It also goes to the university's management centre in Mann-ingham Lane, which does not otherwise have a direct bus service to campus.

Ms Larden hopes businesses will chip in with the cost in exchange for campus-wide advertising and helping boost student safety.

"A company's logo will be emblazoned on the side of the mini-bus, which goes through the city centre at peak times," said Ms Larden, who is taking a sabbatical year from a masters degree in European Integration.

"Drivers and chaperones will wear T-shirts with the logos and it will be on safety literature we distribute around campus,"

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