The dancing girls given the boot by Bradford City are on the comeback trail.

The Bantam Belles have ditched their old name and uniforms for their new role as cheerleaders at a Rugby League club.

Heart and Soul, pictured, as the girls are now known, have scooped a lottery grant to pay for new uniforms, pom-poms and other equipment.

And the squad of ten have already made their debut at National League division one outfit Batley Bulldogs RLFC.

Gemma Stevenson, who danced at Bradford City for three seasons, admitted the troupe were gutted when they were fired by the club.

The girls were told they had been fired just hours before they were due to perform at the derby clash against Burnley in September, 2001.

But after being ditched by the Bantams, some of the girls got together to form the new group which trains once a week at the Heartbeat Gym in Little Germany.

And they were soon boosted by £4,914 from Yorkshire and Humberside Awards for All to pay for new equipment.

"We were pretty down in the dumps after what happened at City," said Bantams fan Gemma, 20, of Bradford. "We had done it for so long and really felt as though we belonged there, but I suppose we have got to move on."

And former Bradford Bulls dancer Gemma said the new group - which plans to set up a junior troupe called the Batley Bullpups - had proved very successful.

"Things are going great now," she said. "It is a really friendly atmosphere at Batley and they are nice people to work with. We are really excited about it."

The girls have scripted new chants for the Batley outfit and now stay on the pitchside for the duration of the game to cheer on their new heroes.

The girls are currently recruiting new team members, who must have some dance experience and be aged over 16. The new junior troupe, to be launched in February, will be open to girls aged six to 15.

Anyone wanting more information should contact Emma Coombs on 07789 812740 or visit the group's website www.heartandsoul.org.uk