A Conservative councillor has stepped aside from the fight to become Keighley's MP after being advised she did not hold the correct credentials.

But the move has not deterred one of her City Hall colleagues from considering applying to be the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for the Keighley ward, which also covers Ilkley, currently held by Labour MP Ann Cryer.

Bradford councillor and Ilkley parish councillor Anne Hawkesworth had been tipped as one of the area's front runners for the position following Robert Collinson's sudden decision to step down as the Tory candidate.

Because the Keighley and Ilkley Conservative Association has been told by Central Office that the eventual successor must be on the approved candidate's list, Cllr Hawkesworth has decided not to apply.

She said: "I am not on the list, which I am advised is a pre-requisite for consideration. I am advised by the party that this is now closed. It seems to me that that is the end of the matter."

However, fellow councillor Andrew Mallinson, who is also a former member of Keighley Town Council, has not been put off by the announcement.

He believed the selection process was not closed to just people on the approved list.

Cllr Mallinson said: "I believe that it definitely needs, at this late stage, a local candidate who has the local interests of the area at heart and also one that has worked in the area for some time."

After Mr Collinson's decision to stand down, all people on the approved list were informed of the vacancy. The position has also been advertised by the party's Central Office.

Gerry Yates, chairman of the local association, said: "We are setting up to go through the selection process at the end of the next month."