A new bridge for Bradford is part of a winning bid that has scooped £50 million in a lottery contest voted for by the public.

The Manchester Road bridge scheme is one of 79 projects which make up sustainable transport charity Sustrans' Connect2 programme.

The winner was announced today by the Big Lottery Fund after The People's £50 Million Lottery giveaway - the biggest amount of money to be decided by the public vote.

Connect2 is a nationwide project that will create new cycling and walking routes to improve local travel and was one of four bids vying for the cash.

On receiving the news they had won John Grimshaw, of Sustrans, said: "To say I am delighted is such an understatement - this is fantastic news for Sustrans. But, more importantly, it is fantastic for the 79 communities and many other partners and local authorities across the UK with whom we have been working for the last two years.

"We are extremely grateful to everyone who has supported us, but the hard work starts now to build those bridges, tunnels, crossings and networks of paths. Ultimately the real winners will be those millions of people who will now be able to Connect2 their shops, schools, workplaces and each other every day."

Four projects went head-to-head in a bid to win the massive £50 million grant with the others in the running being: Eden Project: The Edge; Sherwood: The Living Legend and Black Country Urban Park.

Last week a series of programmes were aired on television showcasing each of the four schemes, then the phone lines opened for voting to begin. Connect2 took 42 per cent of the vote.