Bradford Council has agreed to put its hand in its pocket and help pay for Golden Jubilee street parties.

Grants of up to £250 will be available to organisations, schools, residential homes and groups of people who want to organise Jubilee celebrations over the June 3 Bank Holiday.

Tickets to a garden party hosted by the Queen at Harewood House on July 11 will also be available to 18 people in each council ward.

They will be distributed via local councillors to those who have made a particular contribution to their local communities, following criteria drawn up by council officers.

And 10,000 trees will be planted across the district by the Forest of Bradford in partnership with the council as part of a 'celebration and memorial' theme.

Members of the public will be invited to plant a tree in memory of an event, an anniversary or a loved one.

The Alhambra theatre is to host 'Fifty Years of Theatre', a production involving local amateur groups from across the district joining forces to perform songs and sketches from different periods of the Queen's reign.

This follows on from the success of the popular 'Hundred Years of Theatre' staged in the city's centenary year in 1997.

Tea dances are also being organised across the district.

Groups interested in the council grants for street parties should call (01274) 751447.