An Islamic charity preparing to move into a former council building it has bought for £300,000 is now appealing for donations to make the move possible.

The former Bradford Youth Service building in City Road sold at auction last month, and IslamBradford has revealed it was the successful bidder.

The charity has submitted a planning application to turn the building into an educational centre with offices and space for community events.

IslamBradford, which is based in Preston Street, Listerhills, teaches in English and runs a madrasa on weekdays.

It has now started a fundraising campaign to raise the remaining money to complete the purchase by the end of the month to allow the move.

The group has sent out a tweet asking the community for donations, saying: “Donate your gold to earn the jewels of the akhirah!”

The charity says it has been looking for a suitable, permanent base to buy for years.

It made the bid without the full amount and hopes to raise the remaining £40,000 needed for the purchase to go through by the end of the month.

The planning application says the centre would: “contribute to both the social wellbeing of the area through education and initiatives to address social problems and economic wellbeing through general education”.

Masood Chowdhury, a trustee, said: “This is a big step forward. We’ve been renting for the past eight years. The whole community seems to be behind this. We have £40,000 left to raise by the end of the month and we’re optimistic we’ll get it.

“We mainly aim towards younger people. There is a lot of demand for English speaking educational activities. We actively work with all segments of the community, not just the Muslim faith.”