The crowning centrepiece of the new Emily Street mosque has been fitted on to its new home.

Crowds watched with interest as the giant dome, the first to be fitted to a Keighley mosque, was lowered into place by crane on Thursday afternoon.

The dome's metal frame, nine metres in diameter, five metres in height and weighing in at seven tonnes, will sit directly above the women's prayer room.

Constructed in three weeks by Dalton Lane firm Acetarc, the metal skeleton will be covered with timber and then a lead skin before its exterior is painted green.

The dome and neighbouring 27-metre minaret will form the visual focus for the £1 million building still under construction by Bradford-based Fox Builders.

Keighley Muslim Association press officer Javed Bashir says: "The dome and the minaret are very important traditional symbols for mosques all over the world.

"It will be a beautiful feature with calligraphy on the inside, windows around it to bring in natural light and a large chandelier in the centre.

"The first phase of the building should be completed by mid-November and we are hoping it will be ready for the beginning of Ramadan."

Constructed in natural stone, the first phase of the building will include a men's prayer room on the ground floor and, for the first time in Keighley, a separate prayer room for women, located on the first floor.

The main entrance to the mosque will also switch from Emily Street to Bradford Street.

Work on the second phase of the project will begin after Ramadan and should be finished by next November.

The main feature of the second phase will be a mortuary and refrigeration system where bodies can be prepared for burial. Muslim law dictates that people should be buried as soon as possible.

Mr Bashir adds: "It will be the first purpose built mortuary in Keighley and it will enable us to carry out burial as quickly as possible."

Keighley Muslim Association, alongside other groups in the district, is campaigning for coroners to work at weekends, as well as weekdays, so that a death certificate can be issued straight away if someone dies on a Friday evening, Saturday or Sunday.

Families currently have to wait until Monday before a death certificate can be issued for someone who has died over the weekend.