Councillors have condemned the “appalling” theft of paving stones near the homes of elderly residents of a Bradford neighbourhood.

Mavis Richardson, 88, lives close to where a number of Yorkshire stone flags have been ripped up, in Pleasant Street, Great Horton.

Her granddaughter Diane Brotherton said the pathway had been left in an “extremely dangerous” condition for pedestrians and access had been made difficult for any emergency crews that might be called to the area, which she said was home to a number of elderly people.

“My 88-year-old nan is housebound and if she were to need transport anywhere we’d struggle,” she said. “This is a disgusting example of today’s society.”

She said she believed the stones had been taken at some point overnight on Easter Sunday.

Councillor John Godward (Lab, Great Horton) said if someone were to trip on a damaged stone and “plunge down”, it could be very painful.

He said: “I’m appalled that this sort of thing keeps occurring in all of the wards, wherever there is any Yorkshire stone, which is quite precious.

“What we need is the registration of the vehicle they are using. I would appeal to people to keep their eyes out and report to the Council anything they see, as well as the police, because then we can send someone out to look at what damage has been done.

“I am appalled at the anti-social behaviour of these people that steal them. It does cost the tax payers.”

He said he hoped police would catch the perpetrators and “tough sentences” would be handed down by magistrates.

Councillor Joanne Dodds (Lab, Great Horton) said: “It is awful. They are stealing our heritage and it looks awful. They can’t replace what has been stolen.”

She appealed for residents to be vigilant and report any incidents of stone theft in their areas.

Darren Badrock, Bradford Council’s principal engineer, said: “We will replace the missing flagstones with concrete flagging and stone-fill to make the area safe and report it to the police."