Bradford is going Cats crazy as theatre buffs set the city's box-office tills jingling.

Delighted Alhambra bosses are taking in a staggering £6,000 a day from fans clamouring to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's record-breaking feline musical.

Today, officials urged ticket hunters: "Get 'em before they're gone."

Cats, the longest-running musical in West End and Broadway history, comes to Bradford for the first time in a decade, for 23 performances from July 1.

It is a major coup for the Alhambra, which has previously secured extended runs of the hit shows Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera.

Spokesman James Lee said: "It's going fantastically well. We've sold around 500 tickets this morning alone.

"The show has been selling well right from the start but now the excitement is really starting to build.

"It's a hugely popular musical so the message is, get in quick because they're not going to last long."

The theatre has so far taken £282,000 at the Bradford box office, with another £61,000 in reserve bookings. Last week ticket sales topped £6,200 a day, with demand still increasing.

Cats, based on TS Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, played nearly 9,000 performances in the West End, finally closing last May after 21 years.

On Broadway, it won seven Tony Awards - the theatre world's Oscars - including Best Musical.

The show took more than £136 million in London alone and has been seen by more than 50 million people in 26 countries. Its best-known song, Memory, is said to be one of the most-played radio hits of all time. In Bradford, it is estimated that 34,000 people will see Cats during its three-week run.

The theatre says a few seats remain at most performances, but expects the choice positions to be gone soon.

Meanwhile, the Alhambra's current musical, Fiddler on the Roof, is also playing to packed houses.

Mr Lee said: "It has exceeded all our targets."

The show, which stars Paul Nicholas as Tevye the milkman, runs until Saturday.

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