A senior councillor has called for 'hang out' shelters for teenagers to end the problems they create on children's playgrounds.

Councillor Clive Richardson, chairman of Bradford Area Planning Panel, said teenagers would feel they owned them and may be deterred from wrecking the structures.

His call came after residents terrorised by gangs hanging around a playground won a battle to have equipment removed.

At a meeting of Bradford Area Planning Panel, councillors agreed to take out the equipment at Moor Park, Sandhill Fold, Idle, after they heard local people had been disturbed, harassed and intimidated by youngsters congregating there.

One resident supplied a list of 36 occasions over an eight-month period when problems were caused by youths. Police had been called several times and the fire service once.

At the panel meeting, chairman Coun Richardson read a statement from the residents as they did not wish to nominate a spokesman for fear of reprisals.

They said they had seen underage drinking, drug taking and urinating in public.

Councillor Ghazanfer Khaliq (Lab, Bradford Moor) said he agreed the equipment should be removed.

But Coun Richardson said: "My personal opinion of this is this would be a retrograde step. There will still be an area for youths to congregate. I think the Council should be looking at providing a youth shelter so young people can hang out so they won't become little criminals."

After the meeting, Coun Richardson said: "The real thing we should tackle is the problem of youths hanging about and the fact they like to do it."

He said he intended to pursue the idea of youth shelters with the Council.

But leader of the Liberal Democrat group, Councillor Jeanette Sunderland, called for an end to a policy she labelled "unworkable".

Coun Sunderland, who represents Idle, said: "The money would be better spent improving facilities in local parks. It is a sad reflection on society when teenagers wreck equipment and cause a nuisance.