A relieved Geoffrey Richmond spoke of his delight after fans backed his plan to save the club.

The City chairman looked visibly exhausted after the marathon talks - which went on long into last night and continued today - eventually secured the deal.

But Mr Richmond warned the fight to secure the club's future was not over yet.

He said: "We have effectively received 100 per cent support from the creditors and I am absolutely delighted that we have come through this.

"However, we still have to get the rubber stamp from the Football League so we should see what has happened today as part one of our campaign to save the club."

Mr Richmond urged fans to unite ahead of Tuesday's meeting of the Football League board which will decide if City are going to be able to compete in next season's Division One.

He said he believed the package successfully met all the criteria laid down by league officials.

"I don't see any reason why we shouldn't get the league support," he said. "But the champagne remains on ice at the moment.

"We can all have recriminations and arguments about the past but that will achieve absolutely nothing whatsoever.

"If that happens we will probably see the club blow up. This is a time to work together."

l Bradford Council leader Margaret Eaton today welcomed the news that the club had been saved.

"This is obviously very good news and I'm absolutely delighted," she said. "This presumably means that the club will be able to carry on and concentrate on getting on with the new season.

"It is something so positive. I think everyone has been hit with a sense of "watch this space" for the past few weeks and wishing that something could be resolved.

"Thankfully, it has and it is great news for the city itself and the Capital of Culture bid. The city of Bradford needs to have a professional football club."