The fight to get Saltaire put on a Government list of proposed ''wonders of the world'' was today being backed in both Houses of Parliament.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire has joined Shipley MP Chris Leslie in calling on Culture Secretary Chris Smith to think again about leaving the historic model mill village off a list of 32 places recommended for nomination to the United Nations for consideration as World Heritage Sites.

Earlier this week Mr Leslie, a staunch supporter of the campaign to get the 19th century village put on the same cultural footing as the Pyramids, told the Telegraph & Argus he would be urging Mr Smith to look again at Saltaire.

The Culture Secretary has left the door ajar for the village by launching a consultation period, which continues until October 30, and saying its main purpose is to find out whether there have been any ''important omissions'' from the list.

Mr Leslie, who lives in a former mill workers' cottage in the heart of Saltaire, has said he will be reminding Mr Smith of his comments when he visited the village in May and said it was a ''strong contender'' for the international accolade.

Now Lord Wallace of Saltaire has said he too will be pressing Mr Smith to include the village during the consultation period.

He said: "I think leaving the village off the list is a missed opportunity and I shall be writing to Chris Smith about it.

"Saltaire's been wonderfully restored and as one of the landmark 19th century industrial villages in Britain - and indeed in Europe - it ought to be on the list.''

Following the consultation period a final list of proposed British sites will be forwarded to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation for consideration over the next five to ten years.

Thousands of people a year already visit Saltaire - which was founded by the Victorian industrialist Sir Titus Salt and rejuvenated over the last decade by the late Jonathan Silver - but its inclusion on the list of World Heritage sites would prove a massive boost for the area.

As well as Mr Leslie and Lord Wallace, Saltaire's corner is being fought by Saltaire Village Society with the campaign also backed by local traders, tourism chiefs and Bradford Council.

William Wallace, 56, was elevated to the House of Lords in December 1995 when he was made a Liberal Democrat life peer, adopting the title Lord Wallace of Saltaire in honour of his favourite village.

The distinguished academic, who unsuccessfully challenged Sir Marcus Fox for the Shipley parliamentary seat at the 1983 and 1987 General Elections and was vice-chairman of his party's national policy committee until 1987, has had a home in Saltaire for more than ten years.

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