A suit made from what is thought to be the first ever Yorkshire cloth were unveiled at a reception in Bradford's City Hall last night.

The special navy blue cloth, designed by Bradford-based textile company Clissold, got its first public outing at the event which marked the beginning of The World Wool Conference taking place at the Hanover Hotel today and tomorrow.

Keith Madeley, chairman of the Yorkshire Society modelled the suit watched by Barry Whitaker, chairman of Paradise Street-based textile equipment firm Allertex Ltd and the Bradford College Textile Advisory Group.

Mr Madeley said: "We thought it would be a great idea to mark the wool conference by doing something like this. The fabric is beautiful, when I took it to my tailor he said it was the loveliest fabric he'd seen in a long time. We believe this is the first time the county has had its own cloth."

Otley Road-based Clissold designed the fabric, wove it at its facility in Keighley and used its finishing facility in Huddersfield to complete the cloth.

Adrian Berry, managing director of Clissold, said: "The Yorkshire Society contacted us about designing the cloth and we came up with a few ideas, eventually settling on a navy blue, broken herringbone fabric with light blue highlights.''

The firm has initially made enough of the fabric to make around 40 suits. Even before the cloth was unveiled six people contacted the Yorkshire Society to express an interest in buying the fabric.

More than 200 people are set to attend The World Wool Conference. The event has been funded by regeneration agency Yorkshire Forward and Bradford Council.