A CROWDFUNDING appeal has raised £500 for a Bingley chippy that has been the target of vandalism in last few months.

The popular fish and chip shop, Park Road Fisheries, sustained damage to a window during a recent break-in, which comes in the wake of damage in the summer when four shop windows were vandalised and had to be replaced.

In launching the crowdfunding appeal, local resident Ruth Maxwell-Hudson said: "Park Road Fisheries has been in Bingley ever since I can remember and has always been known for being the best chippy around.

"For some reason, it has been targeted several times by people who think that smashing windows is a fun pastime.

"It inevitably costs the owners a considerable amount of money to replace the large glass panes each time, which takes away from money which should be available to them to get through the current climate.

"I have no affiliation with the shop other than I give them my custom, but it annoys me that some mindless people just want to cause distress, work, mess and unnecessary expense.

"So, I thought we, the local community, might want to help them out by raising money for them to be able to buy shutters if they wish, or to use for glass replacement when needed.

"I know times are tough for everyone at the moment, but I think it would be a lovely kind gesture towards a lovely local shop."

"To be honest, we were very surprised when somebody told us about the fundraising," said Steven Hartley, owner of Park Road Fisheries. "We're very humbled and quite taken aback that the community felt like that.

"This shop has been serving the area for about 90 years and we've owned it for the past 15 years. It's part of the local community.

"We have a lot of loyal customers and many of them are our friends. This was very unexpected but we are very grateful how people feel about our business."

Steven said the recent vandalism is not new, as several shopfronts across Bingley have been targeted at least once, if not multiple times, in the last year.

"There has been a lot of vandalism over the last 12 months and people are getting fed up of it," he said.

West Yorkshire Police have been contacted about the incidents and are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

A spokesperson said: "Police were called on Saturday, October 17, to reports of a burglary at Park Road Fisheries.

’Suspects approached the shop from Park Road and smashed the front door window and gained access to the premises.

They opened the till, which was empty and left the premises empty handed, but caused further damage to a window when they left. They fled the scene on a bicycle on Park Road towards Bingley High Street.

Enquiries are ongoing into this incident by the local NPT team, including examination of nearby CCTV.

Two incidents were reported to police in June this year relating to criminal damage at the same premises.

Four windows were damaged then, which cost over £2,000 to replace. Recent damage to the one window cost nearly £300.

If anyone has any information about anti-social behaviour or crimes in this area contact the police via 101 or the West Yorkshire Police website.