Families who bought their house expecting a footpath to be reinstated down a leafy bank nearby are furious after it was replaced by giant concrete steps at the side of their houses.

Now Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe has contacted Bradford Council about the steps which go up the side of their new properties and end inside their private road.

"It was totally unnecessary to replace a normal footpath with a structure like this," he said.

Residents, who paid up to £88,000 for their new homes off Huddersfield Road and moved in just weeks ago, said they knew nothing about the 30ft high flight of concrete steps.

They have put in an official complaint to the Council and say the staircase, which is half finished, should be demolished.

But the Council has insisted the steps conform to health and safety regulations and will not be removed.

Jane Broadbent, 38, who has children aged ten, eight and six, said she feared they would climb up the stairs from the road as they were out playing.

She added: "One of the reasons we moved here was that we would have a private road which would be safe.

"We had no idea at all about this. They are dangerous for members of the public to use. You can't even get a pram up and down them.

"It's ridiculous that conditions were made when the houses were built that they had to have facilities for disabled people. Anyone with even a small disability couldn't use these steps.

Julie Richardson, who has just moved into her house at The Gateways, said: "We didn't know anything about steps and object strongly about its re-routing into our estate instead of exiting on to Huddersfield Road as it did before."

She said the original footpath was made of bark chippings and there seemed to be no reason for replacing it with a huge concrete stairway.

Bradford Council's assistant chief executive for regeneration and environment David Kennedy said there had always been a right of way down the side of the houses and only a small part of its line had been changed to make the exit safer. He said the steps complied with health and safety regulations.

"I regret the Council isn't in a position to make any changes," he said.