Councillors setting Bradford's annual budget refused to fund education chiefs' £675,000 shortfall.

Conservative group proposals for Bradford Council to make up the Education Bradford's shortfall in its contract were met with resistance by the other political groups and the controversial move was sacrificed.

An extra £660,000 will go to education but it will be spent directly on front-line services rather than given to Education Bradford which took over the running of the district's schools from the local education authority and now has the budget problem.

The decision was one of the more dramatic outcomes of a tedious six-and-a-half-hour marathon which saw senior politicians scuttling between offices, meeting in secret and arguing over matters as mundane as the replacement of boilers at City Hall.

However, the discussions eventually bore fruit, and by 10.30pm a budget had been thrashed out which was acceptable to both Tories and Labour. Both gave their full support along with the BNP.

However, the Liberal Democrats voted against the budget - claiming the negotiations were a 'farce' - and the Greens abstained.

The budget will mean extra cash for street wardens, street-scene services and £100,000 to fight fly-tipping.

An extra £750,000 will be set aside for social services and an extra £250,000 for highway maintenance.

Council leader Councillor Margaret Eaton (Con, Bingley Rural) said she would be giving the Education Bradford question a 'great deal of thought' but claimed she was pleased with the overall outcome.

"Our aim was to deliver something which helps improve services, such as funding for those people who look after the vulnerable, and yet not be a huge burden on the council tax payers," she said.

Labour group leader Councillor Ian Greenwood (Lab, Little Horton) said he was glad to see no money being paid to Serco, the company behind Education Bradford.

He also said that the budget had to be passed.

"There are things missing from it and there are things in it we would not have put in, but that is the way negotiations work," he said.

But Liberal Democrat leader Councillor Jeanette Sunderland (Lib Dem, Idle & Thackley) accused the Labour and Conservative group leaders of making a deal - something both denied.

She said: "Other councils up and down the country which operate in no overall control have long since abandoned this farce and I look forward to much more honesty in this process in the future."

Councillor David Ford (Green, Heaton) said: "This budget does still have a lot of shortfalls, but we are pleased to have got sustainability into the budget - that is something that will move us forward."