The number of traveller caravans parked across Bradford has almost doubled in a year, according to new Government figures.

But Bradford Council has disputed the statistics and says that the Government report is wrong.

Figures published last night by the Department for Communities and Local Government reveal that when the survey was taken there were 133 caravans – compared with 73 the same time last year.

Of the 133, 100 are parked on legal sites but 33 were “not tolerated” meaning council chiefs are taking action to move them on.

But John Major, Bradford Council’s Assistant Director for Environmental Health, said: “The figure published by the Department for Communities and Local Government for illegal caravans camped in the district last July does not agree with the figure compiled by Bradford Council. We are in on-going discussions with Government officials to discover how this discrepancy arose. The figures compiled by the Council show that there were no illegally camped caravans during that period.”

Traveller presence is varied across West Yorkshire with 175 caravans in Leeds, 94 in Wakefield and five in Kirklees. None were recorded in Calderdale.

Cash bonuses will be given to councils that build new camps in a bid to stop dozens of caravans being parked illegally across the region.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has pledged the Government will match the council tax revenue raised on every traveller home on new legal sites for six years.

The New Homes Bonus was drawn up as an incentive for councils to pass new housing schemes after the abolition of Government housing targets. But traveller sites will receive equal treatment where they are valued for council tax, according to the department.

Mr Pickles insists the move will put the “fairness” back into communities where tensions have been heightened by unauthorised camps.

Mr Pickles said: “Unauthorised developments have created tensions between travellers and the settled population. We want to redress the balance and put fairness back into communities.

“Like the rest of the population, the majority of travellers are law-abiding citizens and they should have the same chance of having a safe place to live and bring up their children. These changes will put travellers who play by the rules on an equal footing. But at the same time, we will not sit back and allow people to bypass the planning rules that everyone else has to abide by.

“That’s why we will strengthen the powers that councils have to enforce against breaches of planning rules and tackle the abuse of the planning system.”