More than a thousand extra free nursery places for three-year-olds are to be created in Bradford through a £1.5 million grant announced today.

The cash forms part of a national £275 million payout to ensure every three-year-old in the country has a free nursery place by September 2004 - a key Government target.

The investment, which will provide an extra 1,200 nursery places, was today welcomed by schools chief Councillor David Ward, who said it would help Bradford meet the Government target quicker.

"Nursery places for all is crucial to our agenda of raising standards in Bradford," he said. "Everybody realises that investment at an early age is the most important investment for later on in life."

Announcing the cash, which is included in a £22.6 million allocation for the Yorkshire and Humber region, Education Minister Catherine Ashton said: "This Government believes nursery education for all will improve the prospects and opportunities for children across the country.

A stable and consistent early years experience for children will give their parents more choice over whether they return to work, or enter into further education or training."

She added: "I am delighted we are now close to achieving our aim of providing all children with a firm foundation for success in their later learning.

"A key step towards this was the introduction in September of the Foundation Stage Early Learning Goals for early years education, that will help ensure they receive high quality learning across the country."

She said following previous investment there were now free places for all four-year-olds and there would be free places for all three-year-olds, whose parents wanted one, by September 2004.

Coun Ward, who is the Council's executive member for education, said the cash would be used to 'fill in gaps' in provision in Bradford.

"We are already very high in our provision - it's one thing we're good at," he said. "It's now a case of filling in the gaps. The problems are not necessarily in the inner city areas - one report this year identified Burley-in-Wharfedale as an area needing more places and we are extending provision there.

"We are working towards 100 per cent cover, and this cash will help us get there sooner."

Children qualifying for a 'free place' at nursery get five two-and-a-half hour sessions per week, 11 weeks per term, for three terms.