The future of a village hall could be under threat if it continues to be hit by arsonists.

The fire exit doors at the rear of Ian Clough Hall, in Baildon, have been set alight twice in four months, causing the hall to close on both occasions for health and safety reasons.

The building remains shut almost a month after the latest attack on February 7 and community groups are being forced to cancel meetings or relocate to alternative venues.

Bradford Council, which runs the hall, is replacing the damaged wooden doors with metal doors to guard against future fires. It hopes the facility will reopen on Tuesday.

However, Councillor John Briggs (Lib Dem, Baildon) fears the hall will be forced to shut forever if it continues to suffer arson attacks.

"If it keeps getting arson attacks, groups who use it at the moment will just move away and find somewhere else," he said.

Coun Briggs added that the upkeep of the facility was not up to scratch and he questioned the Council's commitment to the future of the building.

A Council spokesman said: "We regard it as an important community resource in Baildon and we are committed to maintaining the building and continuing to make it an attractive venue.

"There is positive news because Bradford District Care Trust is going to be using it between Monday and Friday as a base for people with learning difficulties."

Jack Watson, speaker secretary for Baildon Men's Forum, which meets in the hall once a fortnight, said: "It's so senseless that this keeps happening. We have had to make alternative arrangements on two occasions and the Ladies' Forum had to be cancelled altogether because they had no time to get an alternative venue.

"Apparently, they are having metal doors fitted to avoid a recurrence.

"The building is in need of some refurbishment but we are always told there is no money. I don't know what the future of the hall is."

Malcolm Brook, secretary of the Mens' Forum, said: "It's disgusting. The people who do this should be locked up. We have had to move our meetings to Baildon Methodist Church twice and we could be thinking of making it a permanent move."

Inspector Owen West, of Shipley Neighbourhood Policing Team, said police were carrying out a lot of work to tackle problems in the village.

He said: "We have stepped up patrols and engaged with the Council's anti-social behaviour team looking at five key individuals who are causing problems up there."

Insp West said two people were arrested last month for graffiti in the vicinity of Ian Clough Hall.

"We also had one individual clearing graffiti they had created," he added.

A CCTV camera in the village overlooks the hall but is partly obstructed by trees. Chopping down the trees and introducing more street lighting was suggested at a meeting between councillors and police last week.