Traders criticised the length of time it took police to respond to an incident in which three stores were burgled at a market hall.

Staff arrived for work at the Oastler Centre, in Northgate, Bradford city centre, early yesterday to find the shops had been ransacked.

Glass in the doors of Northgate Bistro and the British Heart Foundation charity shop had been smashed and blood smeared on counters and tills.

About £180 had been stolen from tills, cash boxes and charity boxes at Northgate Bistro, £130 from the Delicatessen and nothing from the British Heart Foundation.

Traders said the alarm was raised as soon as they arrived at work shortly after 7am on Monday, but were frustrated that police did not arrive until after 10am.

Last night police apologised for the delay.

Shortly after 9am, Christine Tyson, manager of the British Heart Foundation shop, called police again on 0845 6060606 to follow up a 999 call made by her colleague an hour earlier.

By 10am bosses at the BHF shop had lost patience. With no sign of police appearing they decided to clear up the mess, and with it some of the evidence, in order to open the shop to customers.

Janet Horley, owner of the Northgate Bistro, said: “We have been told that every single alarm was going off. I am mad that there wasn’t more security in the market.”

She said the intruder had stolen £35 from a charity box to collect money in memory of popular 83-year-old Enid Longbottom, who used to frequent the bistro but died recently. The money would have been donated to her favourite charity, the PDSA.

Gunther Giangregorio, co-owner of the Delicatessen, said: “He has prized our till open with a knife and snapped the knife in the process. He obviously cut his hand so we have got blood in various different places.

“I got them on camera but it was a little too dark to get a good image.”

Chief Inspector Tim Redhead said last night: “I am disappointed with the time it took for officers to respond but would like to emphasise this was caused by pressures upon our service as well as grading issues in respect of the original call.

“I would like to apologise to the victims for any unreasonable delay they experienced which does not reflect the typical high levels of service provided by officers from Bradford South.”

Anyone who has any information can call police on 0845 6060606.