The owner of a village shop attacked by arsonists twice in 48 hours said her family was “living in fear”.

Bradford solicitor Asama Javed said she was mystified about why the village store in Addingham, which she owns with her husband, was the target.

The shop, in Main Street, was badly damaged by a blaze at 1.20am yesterday which blew out several windows and caused a partial collapse of the roof.

About 20 firefighters from Ilkley, Keighley, Silsden and Bradford were called to the scene of the incident following a previous, smaller fire in the same building early on Tuesday.

Police are linking the incidents and the senior officer in charge of the investigations said he was already making “good progress” in his hunt for the arsonists.

But last night, Mrs Javed said she had no idea why her family and business should be a target.

She said: “We haven’t done anything so why has it started? I honestly don’t know.

“I’ve certainly not made any enemies, to this level. But you just don’t know why somebody would do something like that.”

The solicitor, who has three children and lives in Bradford, said her family had been deeply shaken by the attacks. She said her husband occasionally slept in the shop premises overnight.

She said: “We’re living in fear at the moment. We don’t know whether these people are trying to get us away from there or if it’s far more personal than that.

“It’s a big shock because we’ve been in Addingham five or six years now and, like any community, you have people who get on with you and some who don’t but we’ve never had any real problems with people.

“I had one lady who was crying and said I can’t believe one human would want to do that to another human. We’ve had brilliant support from people.”

Mrs Javed, who is standing as a Labour candidate for the Manningham ward at next month’s Bradford Council elections, also vowed the attacks would not force them out.

Detective Inspector John Mountain, of Airedale and North Bradford CID, said: “The two incidents are clearly linked.

“We are making good progress with initial lines of inquiry and will be working closely with colleagues from the fire service.

“I would appeal to anyone who saw suspicious activity outside or inside the building prior to either of the fires to contact Detective Sergeant Steve Wedge on 0845 60 60 606.”

It is not the first time a shop owned by Mrs Javed and her husband has been attacked.

The couple used to own the village newsagents, but in 2006 it was damaged by a serious blaze, which police believe was also arson. The shop was refurbished but last February, arsonists again caused more damage.

Councillor, Michael Kelly, (Con, Craven) who lives in Main Street, said the latest fires were very worrying for villagers. He said: “I’ll be as interested as everybody else to know what’s going on here.”

e-mail: jon.redhead @telegraphandargus.co.uk