Vandals have used a stolen bulldozer to go on a wrecking spree.

Paving stones were shattered, street lights smashed and heavy metal barriers torn down at the Greenway in Pollard Park, Undercliffe, where £120,000 had been spent to create a community area.

The Greenway was created after more than 500 residents petitioned for an end to the vandalism, drug dealing and dangerous driving that was rife in the area.

The campaigners managed to acquire funding from Bradford Council, Bradford Community Housing Trust and Regen 2000 - via money provided by Yorkshire Forward.

The metal barriers and boulders had succeeded in keeping motorcycles and cars off the pedestrians-only area.

It is thought the vandals managed to drive on to the Council-owned site via a footbridge crossing New Otley Road.

Sheila Rushforth, the acting president of the Pollard Park Residents' Association, who lead the improvement campaign, said residents were devastated.

She said: "Everybody put in all this effort and money.

"It's just mindless total vandalism. It's a total mess, it's absolutely awful. If that digger had toppled over someone could have been killed."

She said it was difficult to estimate how much the damage would cost to repair, adding that some of the metal work might be salvageable from the wreckage.

"They seem to have been hell-bent on causing as much damage as they could. We are all fed up," she said.

Jeanette Sunderland, the steering group chairman for Regen 2000, said: "It's unbelievable that somebody would be this destructive and destroy all the hard work of the residents in making the community a safer place for people to be.

"Somebody, somewhere must know who has done this and they must come forward so that the culprits can be confronted and punished."

Ian Simpson, the executive director of Bradford West City Community Housing Trust, said: "We utterly condemn the vandals who have caused damage to what should be a popular pedestrian link to the city centre.

"Working with local residents we have undertaken extensive work to deter vandalism and add to the appearance of the area as part of the development of the scheme.

"The continued vandalism does, in our view, mean we need to look as the fundamental redesign of the area working with local partners and residents."

A Bradford Council spokesman said the vandalism was being investigated.

Councillor Mohammed Jamil said: "They have put so much work in for the community, it's not right that people just come and vandalise it."

A West Yorkshire police spokesman said: "At about 9.20pm on Thursday police received a report of a large digger being driven in the area of Greenway, Bradford.

"Callers reported the digger being driven over the footbridge across New Otley Road, damaging the bridge, and causing damage to bollards, lighting posts, railings and other street furniture in the general area.

"Officers attended and the digger, a yellow Bedford front dumper, was found abandoned in Brookfield Road."

Officers want anyone with information to telephone them on (01274) 376459.

e-mail: rebecca.wright@bradford.newsquest.co.uk