BUSINESS owners are resisting a council crack-down on shop shutters, saying they need to protect themselves from criminals.

The authority has a long-standing campaign to rid the district of metal roller shutters in a bid to smarten up local streets.

Planning enforcement officers have been stepping in where firms refuse to comply and now the authority has started enforcement action against three more businesses in Bradford.

But some of the firms have called for leniency, saying they fear they could become victims of crime if they take the shutters down.

One company affected is Sahara Pharmacy, in Duckworth Lane, Girlington, which has been served with an enforcement notice after it was refused retrospective planning permission for its shutters.

Pharmacy manager Ajmal Amin said: "We put up the shutters because there has been a lot of crime in the area."

He said they had an obligation to keep their medications well secured.

"We are monitored by a Royal Charter and the General Pharmaceutical Council which states we need to have adequate security for the medications we have in the premises, because they can be detrimental in the wrong hands," he added.

Mr Amin said their shutters were high-quality and powder coated, with perforations so people could still see inside.

And he said they were "identical" to shutters fitted on a nearby bookmakers, which had recently been approved by planners.

The council has also served enforcement notices on two eateries in Great Horton Road.

At Lala's restaurant, manager Naz Nasser said they didn't have shutters on their front windows, but had one on a back window by their bin yard.

He said they had suffered four break-ins within a year and on two of those occasions the burglar had got through this back window.

He said: "We have had burglaries. Why would we spend £550 on a shutter if we did not have to have one?"

Asian food shop Ambala, further along Great Horton Road, has also been served with an enforcement notice.

No-one was available to comment when contacted by the Telegraph & Argus.

Under the council's rules, solid roller shutters are banned in almost all circumstances.

Companies are instead advised to install other security measures instead, such as shutters which fit inside windows.

Local authority guidance says: "External solid shutters hide shop fronts and window displays, and reduce light to the pavements, thus creating a deadening,

unwelcoming and neglected effect on the high street.

"These effects present an unfriendly appearance and can create a perception of an unsafe environment on the high street.

"External roller shutters are also easy also targets for graffiti, which can add to the detrimental impact upon the street scene."