Without the Telegraph & Argus vulnerable kids could have waited longer for a home, a cancer charity may not be nearing its target - and Bradford might not have been home to a new training agency.

Bradfordians involved in all these causes have paid tribute to the place of the T&A in the life of the city.

To mark Local Newspaper Week, leading members of each of these campaigns were full of praise for the coverage they received in their local paper - the Telegraph & Argus.

When news came through of the closure of the Bradford Training and Enterprise Council (TEC), the T&A linked up with business leaders to launch the Don't Skill Us Off Campaign.

David Wilkinson, chief executive of the TEC, recalled: "There were four TECs in West Yorkshire which were going to be replaced by one Learning and Skills Council: where should it be located? Obviously there was a lot of pressure from Leeds, Wakefield and Brighouse. It was the Don't Skill Us Off campaign, part of a wide-ranging campaign, that said we want the Learning and Skills Council to operate from Bradford - and it now does.

"The paper's campaign was absolutely crucial to this, and provided a fulcrum around which so much else happened. It was an absolutely brilliant campaign that showed the way a community newspaper like the T&A, and a community, can work together."

The Learning and Skills Council, which covers the whole of West Yorkshire, is now based in Manchester Road, Bradford, and employs 100 people.

Also in the past year, the paper has run a series of articles on fostering and adoption, highlighting the need for more carers to come forward to look after vulnerable youngsters in the care of Bradford Council.

This culminated in a special supplement published in March in a bid to recruit more helpers. The four-page supplement was a partnership between the paper and social services.

Richard Bates of Bradford social services said: "The T&A is read by thousands of people, so from our point of view it is a great way of reaching a lot of people in our target audience.

"We've been pleased with the sensitive way the issues of fostering and adoption have been handled. It's clear from the articles that journalists have understood where we were coming from and presented the information in an un-sensational way."

Also enjoying positive coverage has been Brian Curran, fundraiser for the Marie Curie Cancer Care Bradford Appeal, which is nearing its target of £5.2 million for the city's new hospice.

"Throughout my experience as a fundraiser for Marie Curie, the T&A has helped raise our profile through printing stories and taking pictures of events," he said. "It's an invaluable resource for our charity.

"Two reporters took part in the Dublin Dash event and the photographers have shown fantastic support - a picture tells a thousand words."

The T&A has also played its part in tackling crime on the streets of Bradford.

Teaming up with detectives this week, the newspaper launched a poster campaign appealing for information on the brutal killing of teenage prostitute Rebecca Hall.

Similar moves were taken to hunt down the kidnappers of baby Daniel Grimshaw, who was finally reunited with mum Amy after 11 weeks.

As well as launching a high-profile campaign, the T&A printed an open letter from Amy appealing to readers for information about the toddler.