More than 700 asylum seekers are being provided with homes in Bradford, according to new figures.

The Government revealed that 715 people are living in the area.

More than 2,000 asylum seekers are living in Leeds, 785 in Kirklees, 420 in Wakefield and 255 in Calderdale at the end of March.

Across Yorkshire and Humber the Home Office figures show 7,840 asylum seekers living in the region - the highest in the country.

The North West ranked second with 6,560 asylum seekers.

A further 55 asylum seekers are living in Bradford outside of the state-funded homes on "subsistence only" benefits.

A total of 305 are receiving this support for food and living costs in Yorkshire and Humber Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said stronger border controls were making it "harder than ever" for bogus asylum seekers to come to Britain and abuse the system.

He said unfounded claims were continuing to fall, and applications were down 75 per cent since intake was at its peak in 2002.