A "video nasty" about a vandal-hit Bradford street is being made by West Yorkshire Police.

Officers from Toller Lane are taking part in the filming to show the extent of damage caused by gangs of youths in Duckworth Lane, Heaton.

Beat managers PCs Owen West and Zoe Brooksbank have organised the pioneering project.

PC West said: "There is a problem with damage to business premises, windows have been broken, graffiti daubed on the walls and gangs of youths have been intimidating employees and shoppers.

"This is reflected in the high crime figures for the area - 186 crimes this year compared to 111 for the whole of 1995. We want to show people the situation and convince them to take positive action."

One trader in Duckworth Lane, who asked not to be identified, said: "There's a lot of problems here. There's fighting and vandalism with gangs hanging around. It can be quite scary sometimes."

The video will be shown to officers at Toller Lane to highlight the problems and will then be shown in the area via a police "roadshow".

The scheme will be followed-up with a programme of initiatives to improve the appearance of Duckworth Lane.

Bradford Council's cleansing department will be joining forces with Toller Lane's youth services projects officer, PC Tim Illingworth, to work with vulnerable young people and organise youth club activities. British Telecom is also to clean up the telephone kiosks.

Community safety officer Inspector Brian Langford, who is co-ordinating the project, said: "Members of the business community and residents are fed-up with a minority of people committing crime and intimidating them."

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