Who knows what goes through the minds of thugs like the ones who have targeted bungalows in Bradford in a series of vandalism and arson attacks. The houses, lived in mainly by elderly residents, have been subjected to bricks thrown through the windows, fireworks attached to doors and banging on the walls.

No doubt the young hooligans who have been spotted carrying out the vandalism would moan that they are "bored" and "have nothing to do" of an evening. But that certainly does not give them any right to terrorise a group of largely elderly citizens who just want to get on with their lives as peacefully as possible.

And while what the thugs are doing might just seem " a bit of fun" to them, something to relieve the tedium, it could have more serious and far-reaching consequences.

In the latest attack a 74-year-old widow had a lucky escape when vandals set fire to her car parked on the drive. The blaze was about to spread to her house when firemen turned up to battle it. Perhaps most tragic of all, the woman at first refused to answer the firefighters' frantic knocking at her front door, because she thought it was yet another attack by the thugs.

Fortunately, she suffered no physical injuries. But the mental torture of living in fear of the thugs was summed up by another resident who said: "It is frightening to live here alone. I am scared."

How long before this so-called "bit of fun" gets out of hand and turns into something more serious, and police are not investigating an arson attack, but a murder?