London cabbie Gary Cobb, pictured, has been learning the "Bradford Knowledge" to spread the word about our Capital of Culture bid throughout the capital.

Gary's London cab - a new-style TXI cab - has been covered in Bradford 2008 livery promoting the district's bid.

And customers hopping aboard the taxi are learning all about Bradford from Cockney cabbie Gary as he drives them around the London hotspots.

The Bradford 2008 cab features the logos emblazoned on both sides of the vehicle and on the back and roof - so it can be seen by passengers aboard London's famous red double decker buses.

"I get all kinds of people in the cab and everyone has been asking me about it," said Gary.

"I've driven it all over the place - I go to Tottenham Hotspur's football ground quite a lot, and the cab has been attracting a lot of interest in the car park there, and I've taken it to Gatwick Airport several times so it's had quite a lot of international interest too.

"I've had passengers who are from Yorkshire who've spotted the cab and want to get in.

"It's always busy in London and with summer coming there'll be lots more tourists, especially with it being the Queen's Golden Jubilee year.

"People are always asking about the Bradford logos when they get in the cab and I'm sure there'll be a lot more interest over the next few months."

Bradford's Capital of Culture bid director Paul Brookes has already hailed the cab and Oscar-winning film producer Lord Puttnam, who is chairman of Bradford's bid partnership board, plans to get on board.

Gary has been sent an information pack about Bradford from its Capital of Culture team and he has been hard at work learning all about the district and its bid campaign.

"I've been a taxi driver in London for nine years and it took me two years and five months to learn The Knowledge," he said.

"It's very hard, because London is so big and the roads are often complicated - some drivers find it impossible to learn it all and pass the exam.

"I'm still learning the Bradford Knowledge - hopefully it won't take me as long this time!"

"I'm a Londoner and didn't really know anything about Bradford before - apart from the riot stuff on TV last year and that wasn't very positive!

"But when you learn more about it you realise there's more than you think.

"I've only been to Bradford once, many years ago when I was simply passing through, but from what I've been learning I'd love to pay it a visit, in my cab.

"The Capital of Culture team is certainly working hard to get the place noticed."

Gary learned about Bradford's bid when he contacted a company called Taxi Media, which specialises in promotional livery for London cabs.

"I was applying to have my cab liveried and they showed me the Bradford logo and told me what the bid was all about. I thought it would be a great way of promoting Bradford's bid.

"It's something unique - none of the other cities are doing anything like this. It certainly gets people's attention."

Farzana Khan, spokeswoman for Bradford's Capital of Culture bid team, said: "We sent out an information pack which includes press releases and cuttings about Bradford's bid and general information about cultural attractions across the district.

"It's a very effective - and fun - way of getting Bradford's bid noticed in the capital. It's all part of the next phase of our campaign which is to promote the bid on a national as well as a local level."