It's become a modern festive tradition - but the Coca Cola Christmas truck will NOT be coming to Bradford this year.

The bright red lorry, as seen in the company's Christmas TV ads, tours the country each year handing out free drinks and offering the chance for a selfie.

It first rolled into Bradford in 2013 when it was given pride of place in front of City Hall.

But by 2016 the city centre location had been ditched in favour of a lower-profile engagement in a Morrisons car park.

Even this was too prominent for Liberal Democrat councillor Jeanette Sunderland, who called for a boycott of the visit - calling it "outrageous" that the city should host "a slick marketing operation from a soft drinks manufacturer" at a time when it was fighting a "public health battle" against tooth decay and childhood obesity.

This year's tour dates, announced today, confirm that in 2018 the much-loved mobile billboard will skip the Bradford district entirely, although it will make a stop at Pudsey Asda on Wednesday November 21.