Pressure from town centre bosses has prompted Bradford council to pledge an extra £5,000 to publicise Keighley.

The cash has been found in addition to £2,000 already given by the council's Keighley Area Panel for promotional events.

The donations were welcomed by the leading lights of Keighley's Town Centre Management (TCM) Group.

They had originally blasted the council for an earlier refusal to help Keighley get back on its feet following the building of the new bus station.

Graham Mitchell, the vice-chairman, had said it was an "appalling state" that Bradford could not help market Keighley.

Mr Mitchell welcomed the council's U-turn and said the money was vitally needed to help push Keighley.

He adds: "Well done and thank you to the council - after all, after the city of Bradford we're the biggest settlement in the district.

"The town centre manager's team works miracles for Keighley with limited resources and they deserve our total support."

TCM chairman Cllr Andrew Mallinson says the £5,000 has been drawn from several council budget pots by the assistant chief executive, David Kennedy.

"It's 100 per cent for publicising Keighley - to say we're open for business as usual. It goes on raising Keighley's profile."

Cllr Mallinson has been told there could be additional cash to fund Keighley projects - particularly based on the arts - if they can be linked to Bradford's City of Culture campaign.

Town centre bosses say the money is needed because businesses suffered last year as the amount of shoppers visiting Keighley dropped while the bus station was being built.

The TCM - made up of businesses, council departments, transport chiefs and other local organisations - decided an "intense" events and promotions programme was needed to pull back the lost trade.

A fighting fund attracted £2,000 from Keighley Area Panel, £1,000 from the Single Regeneration Budget, £500 from the Airedale Centre and £350 from Keighley and District Travel.

Part of the money was spent on entertainment to mark the opening of the bus station earlier this month, and future entertainment is planned.

Cllr Andrew Mallinson, chairman of the TCM, met with Bradford councillors marketing and communications director Owen Williams to ask for extra cash.

Mr Williams said he was not able to offer direct funding to promote Keighley but would look at including the town in any media advertising.

The decision met with disappointment from the TCM committee, and Mr Mitchell made his comments about the "appalling" situation.