BRADFORD residents are among those to benefit from a Government scheme to help families onto the housing ladder and kickstart the building trade.

The Help to Buy scheme was introduced as a way of helping those who wanted to own their own homes, but who struggled to raise the large deposits demanded by banks and building societies after the recession.

Latest figures show the scheme has helped almost 40,000 households since it was introduced and statistics for the Yorkshire region suggest it is been particularly useful in Bradford.

In the city 336 homes have been purchased using funds from the Help to Buy scheme, compared to only 128 in Sheffield, 258 in Wakefield, 84 in Kirklees and 51 in Calderdale. There were more in Leeds, which had one of the highest take up rates in the country at 457.

Most of the money has gone to help first time buyers who have purchased new homes, which the Government claims was exactly their intention when the scheme was launched.

Councillor Val Slater, Bradford Council's executive member for housing, said it was positive to see help going to those needing homes in the city.

"It is a welcome sign that the scheme has benefitted the people of Bradford because we do have a housing crisis," she said.

"I know people have been struggling to get onto the housing ladder after the crash because they have found it difficult to get the deposits they need and incomes are lower in Bradford, meaning it becomes more difficult to get mortgages."

The Council is involved in its own work to help with the crisis, which has resulted in ten per cent overcrowding in some areas of the city.

The authority has received some financial backing for schemes to build new homes for rent, alongside some properties to be sold so the profits can be pumped back into further schemes to provide more homes for rental.

Announcing the Help to Buy results, Housing and Planning Minister Brandon Lewis said: "Almost 40,000 households have now achieved their dream of becoming homeowners through Help to Buy. Hard working families are getting the homes they want, while house building has increased to its highest level since 2007.

"It's no accident that since the start of the scheme private house building has shot up by a third and continues to climb. Developers are increasing their output, and taking on new workers at the fastest rate since records began.

“And today, for the first time, we’re publishing post-code level data about the scheme, so communities can see exactly how this vital part of our long-term economic plan is improving the housing market and helping their area.”