Two Bradford residents are to petition the National Lottery Board in what they hope will become a national campaign to channel money away from "useless inanimate objects" into more worthy causes.

Alan Hudson, 72, of Eccleshill, and 62-year-old Trevor Williams-Berry, of Wrose, are so fed up with what they see as the indiscriminate allocation of lottery grants that they are intending to lobby the Government for a review of the grant system.

And they aim to enlist the help of Virgin tycoon and would-be lottery controller Richard Branson by writing to him with petitions signed by people up and down the country who also want the method of grant allocation reviewed.

Mr Hudson said: "It seems ridiculous to me that money can be given away for things like an iron statue in Gateshead when much more worthwhile things are ignored.

"Pouring money into things like the Opera and the Millennium Dome is disgusting - how many people in the country are going to be able to benefit from any of these things?

"We want to know what the terms of the committees are - it's unbelievable that money should go to such causes when more worthy groups who don't ask for much get turned down."

The pair started up their campaign after Mr Hudson spotted a letter from Mr Williams-Berry in the Telegraph & Argus last week in which he aired his disgust about the lack of lottery funding for Wrose Community Centre.

Mr Williams-Berry stated: "It would appear that when people are put in charge of vast sums of money, their only wish is to build monuments to themselves in order to satisfy their own egos. Projects like the Wrose Community Centre should be a priority for Lottery Grants."

Co-ordinator at the Wrose Community Centre Bob Lee, whose recent lottery bid for £600,000 was rejected, added: "Lottery money doesn't seem to be homing in on projects on which the average man in the street is supporting."

Anyone who feels similarly let down by the lottery is invited to write to Mr Hudson at 11 Kestrel Drive, Eccleshill, Bradford, BD2 4HA or fax (01274) 589918, 4pm and 8pm, Monday to Friday.

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