THE leader of Bradford Council has criticised a bus company for using its older "cast offs" in the city, increasing pollution levels.

Councillor David Green spoke out as health bosses heard about how bus emissions are damaging people's health in the city.

Cllr Green, the chairman of the district's Health and Wellbeing Board, said: "First Bus should start buying new buses for Bradford, not giving us the cast-offs from everywhere else.

"They do have a habit of giving us second-hand buses in this area. I think that is highlighted by some of the emissions issues identified."

Buses give off 43 per cent of the nitrogen oxide emissions within Bradford's inner ring road, and older buses are often the most polluting, yesterday's health board meeting heard.

Air pollution is to blame for one in 20 deaths in the district, and four areas of the city fall below European pollution standards.

Nitrogen oxide and other pollutants called fine particulates are known to cause strokes, heart attacks and low birth weight among babies.

Bradford Council was given a Government grant to find out whether making various changes could help lower these emissions and improve public health.

Results suggest the most cost-efficient measure would be to get bus operators to improve their fleets, particularly through using compressed natural gas as fuel instead of diesel.

The Health and Wellbeing Board will now write to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which is responsible for public transport, to let it know about the potential benefits of cleaning up the buses.

Other potential measures include trying to persuade people to use petrol rather than diesel cars, or encouraging people to walk or cycle rather than drive.

But the meeting also heard that if the Council perseveres with an idea to install a biomass heating system for its city-centre buildings, this would wipe out any improvements that such measures would make.

The meeting heard that while biomass systems reduced carbon emissions, they did have an impact on air quality.

After the meeting, a spokesman for First Bus said the firm had invested in 12 new buses for Bradford earlier this year.

The low-emission Volvo vehicles, worth £2 million, operate on the 607 Thornton to Holme Wood circular.

The spokesman said the Thornton Road corridor was one of the areas where concerns had been raised about air quality.

The spokesman also said First had teamed up with fellow operator Transdev and Bradford Council to help secure £395,000 of Government funding to clean up 25 older diesel buses.

The buses are being fitted with exhaust gas treatment technology to cut their nitrogen oxides emissions by more than 80 per cent.