A BOOKMAKER has been conducting an unusual experiment in two West Yorkshire constituencies to gauge public opinion ahead of the General Election.

Analysts from BetFred visited Bradford West, where Labour unveiled its manifesto last month, and Halifax, where the Conservatives unveiled theirs, to see how people rated each party’s chances just days before polling stations opened.

The bookmaker handed out free £1 bets to passers-by in each area, to see who they would back.

On Friday, they handed out 100 free bets at the BetFred branch in Market Street, Bradford, which falls in Labour-held Bradford West.

The most common bet placed was for Jeremy Corbyn to become the next Prime Minister, with 22 people opting to place their free bet on him.

In contrast, only two people bet on Theresa May to remain as Prime Minister.

Those who took up the offer of placing a free bet included John Sazczambura, 61, a textile dryer, who put his free £1 bet on Labour to win the most seats at 13/2.

He told BetFred’s analyst that Labour had the support of the working class and said Mrs May kept changing her mind about topics like Britain’s membership of the EU and whether to hold a snap election.

Scott Metcalfe, 34, a recruitment manager, placed the same bet as Mr Sazczambura, but said he was not impressed by any party leader.

Among the other bets placed were 14 people who thought that Boris Johnson would become Prime Minister after Mrs May, six people who bet that UKIP would win a majority and two people who bet that UKIP would win no seats.

The spokesman for BetFred said: “There’s a trend towards young people voting for Corbyn and when we were in Bradford we do feel there was a fair number of people who didn’t like to admit they were Conservatives.”

In the key marginal seat of Halifax, in contrast, the most popular bet was for no overall majority, with 40 out of 100 people betting on a hung Parliament.

There was also a strong focus on local issues, with 30 people betting that Labour’s incumbent Holly Lynch would keep her Halifax seat.

Bookmakers are keeping a close eye on public opinion this year, keen to avoid being wrong-footed again after a series of political upsets left them out of pocket.

The bookies lost out when Jeremy Corbyn became Labour leader against the odds, again when the Leave campaign unexpectedly won the EU referendum and yet again when Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton to the White House.

And while BetFred is still backing Mrs May’s Conservatives to win on Thursday, its odds have narrowed markedly since the election was called.

Political bets are booming this year, according to the bookmaker, which is anticipating taking £2m ahead of this General Election, around double the amount punters placed in 2015.

The largest bet placed so far is by a 24-year-old biology graduate in Norwich, who has bet a total of £10,000 on Labour winning the election.

If his predictions - of Labour winning the most seats, Labour winning an overall majority and Mr Corbyn becoming Prime Minister - all come to pass, he stands to win a massive £172,000.