Police smash down Bradford woman's door and leave it insecure

An innocent woman whose front door was smashed down by police and boarded up insecurely says she has been left fearing for her safety.

Officers were looking for a vulnerable person and forced their way into her Bradford flat when no-one answered.

The doorway was covered up with "flimsy MDF" and she was told by police to pay for the damages and claim back costs.

West Yorkshire Police apologised and said it accepted "that the way the door was secured was inadequate".

The 36-year-old woman, who lives alone in an apartment block in the city, said it was a "high crime" building and she had been left feeling "totally vulnerable".

She had returned home on 23 September to find the door broken down and a message scribbled on an envelope from officers telling her to contact police.

Her partner Daniel Hartley said: "They effectively left this flimsy piece of wood that had been deemed secure.

"When we complained about it we were informed that this had been signed off officially and that was classed as secure."

He added: "I had to stay with her because she didn't feel safe being alone and any kind of noise that occurred in the night we were worried that someone was trying to get in."

Mr Hartley, 36, said after becoming frustrated by the police's response and "hitting a brick wall" he decided to post about what had happened on social media.

Afterwards they received an apology from the police but they said replies to their tweet showed it had happened to many others.

"I've got a tiny social media platform but the tweet gradually gained traction and it's only thanks to that tweet going viral, which is outrageous, that something has now effectively been done about it," Mr Hartley said.

Det Supt Sarah Jones apologised to the woman for "the inconvenience and concern".

She said: "We forced entry to the property in good faith, and the complainant understands the circumstances as the safety of the individuals was paramount.

"This does not, however, justify leaving the door unsecured."

There have been previous calls for West Yorkshire Police to change its door-boarding policy.

Fiona Laskaris believes police left her autistic and vulnerable son at risk by not ensuring he was secure after his door was knocked down by officers in Leeds in 2016.

Days later the 24-year-old was murdered by a drug addict in his flat.

Ms Laskaris said: "It's worrying and I've brought it to the attention of all the appropriate people but on every occasion I've met a brick wall."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk or send video here.