A charity on a Bradford housing estate has registered the 100th baby to its literacy scheme which aims to provide free books to all under-fives.

Canterbury Imagine, which started in September, held a party to mark becoming a charity and signing up eight-month-old Lucja Kluba-Przewlocka for the project which runs on the Canterbury estate. Baby Lucja and her mother Sylwia Kluba,received gifts and a certificate to mark the milestone.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Dale Smith, and former Bradford City football club captain Wayne Jacobs also called in to offer their congratulations.

Mr Jacobs tweeted: “Congratulations on your great work equipping parents to give their babies the best start to education.”

Canterbury Imagine aims to ensure that within five years, every under-five on the Canterbury estate is receiving 12 free books a year.

It is affiliated to the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, a scheme set up by the country singer to offer free books for under-fives, and is the first scheme of its kind in West Yorkshire, targeting one of Bradford’s areas of deprivation.

The youngsters build up their own ‘imagination library’ of high-quality books, and could see improved literacy and more parent-child bonding.

Parents living in the Canterbury area can register any babies born in 2012 or 2013 for their free books by contacting Canterbury Children’s Centre in Basil Street. The children then receive a free book, addressed to the child, through the post every month from birth until their fifth birthday.

The charity has received a grant from Sovereign Health Care Charitable Trust. Scheme organiser Jan Winter said: “This is such a cost-effective way to get books into the heart of children’s homes. It costs only £25 a year for a child from Canterbury to receive a book a month, so we hope businesses might support a group of children in their first five years of life. Our aims also include helping parents to enjoy reading with their children, so we are looking to develop that side of our work with workshops for parents, thanks to this generous grant.”

One of the charity’s trustees is businessman Stuart Hicks, managing director of property consultancy firm Dunlop Heywood, who is bringing his business acumen and experience.

Visit canterburyimagine.co.uk or e-mail Jan Winter at canterburyimagine@btinternet.com for information.