Bradford Teaching Hospitals was celebrating today after becoming one of only a handful of NHS Trusts nationwide to retain a three-star rating for the fourth year running.

The Trust, which became a first-wave foundation trust in April this year and runs Bradford Royal Infirmary and St Luke's Hospital, was awarded top marks in the Government's annual NHS performance ratings.

But Airedale Hospital NHS Trust dropped a star because of poor financial management.

The Healthcare Commission has rated the performance of every NHS Trust in England and scored them from three stars to zero stars according to their performance against a set of national targets.

Figures showed Bradford Teaching Hospitals has once again hit all nine key targets to clinch its three-star ratings.

Trust chief executive David Jackson said: "This has crowned another good year for Bradford's hospitals.

"We have had to overcome a number of challenging targets to retain our three-star rating.

"It is an achievement of which all staff and everyone in the wider community should feel proud.

"Far from being content to rest on their laurels, staff have endeavoured - and succeeded - in continually improving hospital services and the environment in which we offer them.

"We recognise there is no room for complacency. We are determined to build on this platform by harnessing many of the other initiatives that are planned for modernising the NHS in Bradford, such as the launch of a second MRI body scanner, a key tool in the fight against cancer."

By contrast, Airedale Hospital NHS Trust's bid to become a foundation trust was on shaky ground after it dropped a star because of bad financial management.

The Trust "significantly underachieved" in this key target area which means it slides from a top-performing three-star trust to a two-star trust.

The Trust, which manages Airedale General Hospital at Steeton near Keighley, has submitted a bid to the Department of Health to become a foundation trust from October this year and has already recruited more than 1,000 members. Chief executive Bob Allen admitted earlier this year that the success of the bid - which would give the Trust greater freedom from Whitehall control - depended on better management of finances and retaining its three-star rating from last year.

Recent accounts revealed the Trust was £5 million in the red just two months into the financial year.

Today a spokesman for the Trust said the two-star rating showed the Trust was performing well overall, but reflected the need to resolve financial challenges. The spokesman said the Trust was "working with its partners to resolve those challenges."

He added: "We are unsure as yet what this will mean for foundation trust progress. But we will find out shortly."

The Trust did, however, achieve eight out of the nine key targets.