Bangladeshi restaurants in Bradford could be forced to close due to chronic staff shortages.

Owners say they are struggling to recruit staff because UK workers are unwilling to work in their restaurants, while restrictions on visa applications are making it harder to bring workers across from Bangladesh.

Abdul Aziz, who owns three Bangladeshi restaurants in the district including the Taste of Bengal in Idle, said: "I am having a lot of problems staffing my restaurant and this has been going on now for five or six years.

"The younger generations are just

not interested in working in the restaurant trade.

"I'm working seven days a week to keep these restaurants open at the moment - we're always short of staff."

Mr Aziz, who owns three restaurants in the area, says that staff shortages could be solved by bringing in staff from Bangladesh on temporary working visas.

"I was in Bangladesh over Christmas and there were plenty of people who said they would love to come over to work in the restaurant trade for a while, but they find their applications continually turned down.

"We specialise in traditional Bangladeshi food and need Bangladeshi chefs who can provide this.

"If this continues all Bangladeshi restaurants could be forced into closure. Most people tend to associate curries as being Indian food but more than 90 per cent of restaurants are owned by Bangladeshis."

In Spring 2003 the government introduced a scheme called the Sector Based Scheme (SBS), which brought in workers from abroad on short term contracts, to help restaurants and other sectors plug gaps in staffing.

However, restaurant owners say the scheme has been plagued with problems, with many visa applications being refused in Bangladesh.

And last year the government reduced the quota of Bangladeshi workers it would allow into the country by 25 per cent.

Abdul Motin, of Keighley Bangladeshi Community Association, said: "The staffing of Bangladeshi restaurants is a problem I am aware of and it does seem to be the case that a lot of visa applications from Bangladesh are being refused."

Nationally there are around 9,500 Asian restaurants and takeaways in the UK, employing 72,000 people and turning over around £3.2 billion annually.

More than 60 per cent of Bangladeshis living in the UK work in restaurants.

The Guild of Bangladeshi restaurant owners is currently preparing a petition to the Home Secretary to ask for visa regulations for Bangladeshi workers to be altered. The petition will be published in the February issue of Spice Business magazine.