Residents in some of Bradford’s inner-city areas fear for their safety on the streets at night, according to a survey.

More than half of people living in the Heaton and Toller wards said they do not feel safe outside after dark.

A total of 6,727 people took part in interviews about how they feel about their neighbourhoods, including community safety, as part of a perception poll by Bradford Council.

Opinions differ between communities. While only 54 per cent feel safe after dark in Heaton, and 50 per cent in Toller, residents reported a much greater feeling of security in Manningham, which is sandwiched between the two, with just 15 per cent claiming they feel unsafe after dark.

Elsewhere in the Bradford West constituency, unease is also high at night in the City ward. Councillor Sajid Akhtar (Con, Heaton) admitted he was shocked by the perception.

He said: “Heaton is a safe place to live. People look after each other.

“Youths hanging around on the streets is a common problem in many areas, not just Heaton and I think the police are dealing with it quite well but it takes time to carry out this work.”

Elizabeth Hellmich, of Heaton, who runs Bradford’s Safe Project and is chairman of the Heaton Township Association, was less surprised.

She said: “It’s quite sad really because there is a big police presence around here. If you go back two years the feeling wasn’t like that but now a lot of gangs hang around and there has been a lot of vandalism.”

Toller ward councillor Imran Hussain, deputy leader of Bradford Council, said he could not understand why opinions differed between his ward and in Manningham.

“There are significant differences between the two wards which is difficult to explain without more information,” he said. He questioned the accuracy but insisted he was keen to learn why residents felt unsafe.

“I live in the Toller ward and I don’t get the sense it’s in any way more unsafe than anywhere else and I certainly don’t get the impression there is a mass of feeling,” he said.

“Everyone wants to feel safe in their homes and we need to do more work to understand why people are concerned.”

Across the district as a whole, 27 per cent of respondents said they did not feel safe outside after dark.