ANGRY shop-owners have hit out after youths attacked eight shops in a York shopping precinct - and police failed to respond to calls.

Christine Mosley, owner of Salon No 6 in Huntington, criticised police, saying they fail to react to a spree of vandalism which saw shops, street signs and a telephone box covered in graffiti.

The parish council noticeboard had its front torn off in what was the fourth incident of vandalism since it was installed earlier this year.

A local resident who witnessed the attack called the police.

But the resident claimed officers took 15 MINUTES to answer the phone.

The resident said they then failed to come to the scene of the attack despite the fact that the youths were still committing the damage.

But a police spokesman said today they had not received reports of serious vandalism going on at the time.

"It's ridiculous," said Miss Mosley.

"We pay all this money to the council and the police, and they can't even be bothered to come out.

"We pay extra for all this in rates, but we have got nothing for it. If they had bothered they could have come out and caught them."

The spree, between midnight and 2am on Sunday in the Brockfield Park Drive precinct, also hit David W Wilson Butchers.

"We have had trouble here before. I've had the window in my door put through. It's all the young kids who hang round here," said owner David Wilson.

"It's all just stupid, mindless vandalism, but it's frightening for the older people who live round here. It is a worry for them."

Keith Orrell, Huntington Parish Council vice-chairman and councillor for Huntington, condemned the attacks and the police response.

"This is the culmination of the problems they have been having for some time in this area," said Coun Orrell.

"Clearly if the police are not responding it is an issue, which we are going to take up with the community officer.

"We had already made arrangements for a meeting, but it is more urgent now."

He added: "Residents are entitled to think that officers are going to respond to serious incidents such as this one."

A police spokesman said officers would have been sent out to the incident if it had been correctly reported to the call centre as happening at the time, but the incident had been reported as a group of drunken youths rather than as a serious vandalism issue.

He acknowledged that the police call centre was struggling to answer calls swiftly.

Updated: 14:01 Monday, June 30, 2003