City centre businessmen claim their lives have been blighted by dust and noise since Provincial House was blown up.

They claim to be working in conditions which they describe as "like Beirut" next to the giant pile of remaining rubble.

And they argue they have been kept in the dark with little consultation from the time it was announced that the eight-storey office block would be demolished by Cleckheaton-based Controlled Demolition.

Paul Hutchinson, pictured, manager of the Empress pub in Aldermanbury, who lives on the premises, has complained to Bradford Council's Environmental Health Department about dust and noise.

He said: "The noise is unbearable and starts at 7am. The dust is so thick that it is there all over again as soon as you have tried to clean up.

"My son and I have bad chests and the dust is thick and in the air all the time. We were told heavy dust would not be a problem."

Michael Overend, proprietor of XS Beauty Salon, whose windows were damaged during the operation, said he had boarded them up to carry on trade.

He added: "The main problem is lack of information. It's a nightmare. You get passed from pillar to post. We are still plagued with dust and spend every day just trying to get back to normal. But no-one seems bothered about helping us to sort the problems out."

Controlled Demolition group safety manager, Glen Stewart, said: "I am very disappointed to hear this. I have personally met all the property owners along with senior managers. We have been talking to them for a number of months.

"We have told them what was happening and what was needed on the day."

He said there was no noise from the site at 7am and when the contractors were working it was not excessive.

"I was there a few days ago and talked to people about their concerns and organised teams to clean the outside of the properties," said Mr Stewart.

But Mr Hutchinson said he had problems when the building first tumbled down. "We asked for our extraction system to be covered with polythene, but it didn't happen. There is still dust coming through the vents. There are many issues which could have been avoided if only we had known what to expect.

Mr Overend said: "I decided to stay here after the riots a year ago, which hit my business, because I thought Bradford really had a future. But it seems that no-one cares about what happens to the people who stuck it out.

"I am losing trade because people are having to come down a cul-de-sac to reach me, but no-one can even tell me how long it's going to go on. There should have been meetings long before it happened. We only read about things in the T&A."