Politicians and worried residents are demanding to know why a violent rapist was allowed to live at a Bradford hostel, close to a housing estate.

A nationwide manhunt is underway to find Kelly James Edney, 26, who disappeared from the Box Tree Cottage residential hostel at Four Lane Ends, Allerton Road, Allerton, on Monday.

Edney, who was convicted of brutally raping a 16-year-old schoolgirl in Taunton, Somerset, when he was 18, was on licence from prison.

Police say he is a potentially dangerous sex offender who has been known to be violent and say it is vital he is traced as soon as possible. They have warned people not to approach him under any circumstances.

But questions are being asked about why he was living at the Box Tree Cottage. It is opposite the Bullroyd housing estate and not far from The Girls' Grammar School Bradford.

Councillor Clive Richardson (Cons, Thornton and Allerton), who is also vice-chairman of West Yorkshire Police Authority, said somebody had made a "total and awful misjudgment".

He said: "It is a pretty open place with no gates or fences. Somebody has got it wrong and people should learn from that. You wonder what he was doing there. If he is potentially dangerous and shouldn't be approached, it is a very serious matter."

Coun Elaine Byrom (Cons, Clayton and Fairweather Green) said: "I have concerns generally about organisations who make decisions on behalf of the public, which seem to be at odds with other services."

Self-employed taxi driver Zamir Hussain, 37, who lives behind the hostel, has spent £2,500 on CCTV cameras and put in padlocked gates after hearing about the offenders living there.

Mr Hussain, who has four children aged between two and 12, said: "This is very concerning. It is frightening and a worry. We are not going to let our children walk to school, we will drop them off in cars. Places like this shouldn't be in built-up community areas like this. It isn't secured to make it safe for residents."

Neighbour Adil Khan, 24, a supermarket manager, said: "I didn't know what sort of people were in there. I thought it was just a kind of detention centre for people who had committed lesser crimes. It is not the right place, or the right area, for people like that.

"It is worrying and makes me feel unsafe. Residents should be made clearly aware of the kind of people who are in there."

The probation service is now working with police to try to find Edney, who was last seen at 9.45pm on Monday and reported missing from the hostel at 11.30pm.

A West Yorkshire Probation spokesman said a request for offenders on parole licence to live at a hostel had to be approved by the Parole Board. If they were prolific sex offenders they could be subject to conditions.

Following an appeal, several people contacted police after seeing Edney on a train from Leeds to London Kings Cross on Tuesday at about 6.40am.

Edney has connections with the Bridgwater area of Somerset and the Bristol area and it is thought he could be heading there. But police warned he may have gone anywhere.

Edney was also convicted of a series of hoax bomb threats while in Dartmoor Prison in 2003.

Edney is described as white, slim, 5ft 8ins, with dark brown, collar-length wavy hair. He has various tattoos, including "home-made" crosses on his forearms and the letters KJE on his back.

Police said Edney left Bradford by taxi at 9.45pm on Monday, arriving at Leeds railway station at 10.15pm.

At that time he was wearing a blue, long-sleeved Adidas sweatshirt.

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

CHARITY FOR FORMER OFFENDERS
  • Box Tree Cottage has been in Bradford for more than 40 years and is a hostel for male former offenders or those at risk of offending, aged 18 and over.
  • It accommodates people who have committed a range of offences. It is run by the Langley House Trust, a national Christian charity which provides accommodation, training and education with the aim of reducing and preventing crime.
  • Residents are referred by the probation service, prisons, social workers, or by self-referral. They live there for up to two years or shorter periods, with the ultimate aim towards greater independence. Residents come from Bradford, West Yorkshire, and other areas of the country.
  • There are currently 17 men living there and it is staffed by 14 support workers. Each resident has a key worker and a support plan.
  • It is staffed round the clock. Residents have keys to their bedrooms but only staff have keys to the front door. There are CCTV cameras and sprinkler systems and staff carry personal alarms.
  • Cath Magee, northern operations director for the trust, said she could not discuss individual residents. But she said: "We have worked well in the local community for a long, long time. We provide support for some of those who move on to live in their own accommodation, visiting them in their homes and making sure they are coping."