Thousands of Bradford finance jobs could have been saved after the government blocked Lloyd's TSB's bid to takeover banking rival Abbey National.

Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt announced yesterday that she accepted the findings of the Competition Commission which said the £18.2 billion takeover would have been against the public interest.

Staff at Abbey National's £22 million northern headquarters in Bradford were delighted by the news.

It had been feared as many as 20,000 jobs could have been axed nationwide if the deal had been signed and the 1,200 staff at the bank's Nelson Street office were thought to be among the most at risk.

Linda Rolph, General Secretary of ANSA, the recognised trade union of the Abbey National group, said she was "absolutely delighted" with the decision.

"If this takeover had been allowed, the finance sector would have seen more jobs lost and the resulting decrease in competition would have hit customers."

Ben Longsden, 20, who works at the Bradford office said it was "great news" that the commission had decided the takeover would be damaging.

"A lot of people have been worried they would lose their jobs. There has been a great deal of speculation over the last couple of months," he said.

Abbey National employee Elizabeth Evans, 59, was also delighted to hear the company's future was secure. "There will be a huge sigh of relief," she said. "As well as the head office in Bradford there are a lot of branches close to each other so we feared the worst."

The decision had been expected in the City, where many had predicted Ms Hewitt would block the bid, or insist on such harsh conditions that Lloyds would drop its offer.

Mark Pain, Abbey National's finance director, said: "The outcome is not a tremendous surprise to us."

He said Abbey had anticipated the bid would be referred to the Competition Commission, and would "more likely than not be blocked".

He said the only surprising part of the decision was the nature of the rejection. "It is a very broad based, comprehensive rejection," he said.

Mr Pain added: "We will continue to focus on growing our business. We have not stayed static."