THE PARTIAL collapse of a dilapidated Bradford mill left rubble scattered across a public footpath and damaged a nearby resident’s garden.

The mill in Kinder Close, Thornton, partially collapsed into an area "where children usually play" at about 6pm yesterday.

Tracy Revell, 46, who lives nearby, said it “all came crashing down at the same time” while she was in her home.

“I didn’t know what it was, it was really bad. I’ve lived here for eight years and it’s just got worse and worse.”

Mrs Revell said a structural engineer from Bradford Council visited the scene on Sunday and blocked off the pathway.

As well as falling in the public walkway, she said it also destroyed her fencing and garden.

“The children on the street usually play down there, so if they’d been playing it could have been a lot worse,” she said.

“It’s lucky no one was walking down the ginnel too. It’s taken all the fencing down and smashed into my house wall.

“It’s ruined all my plants and the rubble hit my daughter’s car and dented it. Something needs to be done, it needs to be knocked down because it’s unsafe.”

Ben Firth, one of Mrs Revell’s neighbours, said when the houses were first built ten years ago, he tried to buy Mrs Revell’s house but it was declared dangerous and he was told he could not buy it. There was a structure jutting out or the top of the mill, and the stonework was declared unsafe.

Councillor Richard Dunbar (Labour, Thornton & Allerton) said he and his fellow councillors have written to the mill’s owners outlining their concerns over the building.

He said: “We have asked what their plans are to improve it because we do not want buildings in disrepair in the middle of our communities, but we’ve had no response. The ginnel is used a lot by schoolchildren, so it’s a relief no one was injured in the collapse.

“We would kindly ask the owner to take some positive actions to ensure the mill's safety and we would like to hear what their plans are going forward.”

A spokesman for Bradford Council said: “We were contacted about this building on Sunday night and we have carried out an inspection and closed the footpath.

“We carried out a further assessment in daylight this morning and will be contacting the owner of the mill.”

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