Demolition experts today started to bulldoze flats once dubbed "the worst in Bradford".

The team has moved in to flatten the derelict buildings in Woodend Crescent, off Leeds Road, Shipley.

The structures will be replaced by about 140 properties which will include two, three and bedroom homes.

About 40 of them will be for rent from Shipley Community Housing Trust and the remainder will be a mixture of shared ownership and privately-owned houses.

Many of the flats were unoccupied, boarded up and empty but residents still living there have been re-housed.

The flats dominate the approach into Shipley from Thackley and were branded the worst in Bradford by Shipley MP Chris Leslie.

The current owners of the land, Shipley Community Housing Trust, which inherited the properties in the stock transfer from Bradford Council in 2003, stripped the flats earlier this month.

The move is part of a £25 million programme of improvements to homes in the Shipley area which is being carried out by the trust over the next three years.

Andrew Ward, chairman of Shipley Community Housing Trust, said: "This is an exciting scheme which will transform the run-down area into an attractive place to live.

"A significant part of the redevelopment will include high quality homes owned by the trust which will help people to remain living in this popular community, but in much needed modern housing.

"We will be seeking the views of the local community on the planned scheme."

Councillor Tony Miller (Lab, Windhill and Wrose) said the regeneration work would give people living in the area "a feel-good factor".

Coun Miller said: "I think the work will not only regenerate that area but regenerate the area within a radius of a quarter of a mile.

"Private house owners on the other side of Leeds Road will see the prices of their houses go up.

"It's a tremendous boost for that area and something that we've been waiting for quite a long time."

Lorraine O'Brien, executive director of Shipley Community Housing Trust, said: "We have been looking forward to this day for a long time and it paves the way for a redevelopment creating quality homes for local people.

"We are working closely with the Council and local partners to deliver this latest phase of Bradford Community Housing Trust's multi-million pound programme to improve homes across the district.

"The scheme will provide a significant boost for the wider regeneration of the area."

Doncaster-based Keepmoat Plc, a holding company for Haslam Homes, Frank Haslam Milan and Bramall Constructions, successfully bid to develop the site earlier this year.

The demolition work is being carried out by Hughes Demolition.