Fears have been raised that children are at risk of drowning after a spate of thefts of street drainage covers in Bradford.

Caroline Hunter, of Norwood Road, Shipley, said the thieves could be responsible for the death of a small child.

She spoke out after her 33-year-old mechanic boyfriend Richard Taylor stumbled into a drain in Powell Road, Bolton Woods.

He was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary where x-rays revealed extensive damage to the ligaments on the inside of his right leg and kneecap.

He is now sporting two plaster casts on his leg, above and below his knee, and has been fitted with a brace on his kneecap.

"Richard is in a great deal of pain and is constantly taking painkillers. He is out of work indefinitely, all because someone stole one of the covers for those drains," said Ms Hunter.

"There were three covers missing on that one road and they were all full of water. If a child of five fell down there they could quite easily drown."

Ms Hunter has voiced her concerns just days after police revealed that 49 gully grates and fire hydrant covers had been stolen in the city in a week.

Police have appealed for information about the thefts, the consequences of which they said could be tragic.

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