Bradford Council has been praised for learning its lesson from last winter and stockpiling more road salt to fight the arctic conditions.

But, at the same time, the TaxPayers’ Alliance claimed that the Council’s failure to store enough last winter had cost the taxpayer thousands of pounds.

To keep the district’s roads clear last year, the watchdog group said City Hall bosses were forced to spend £286,000 on emergency supplies – three or four times the cost than if it had made better plans and bought earlier in 2009. By way of contrast, Leeds spent just £13,400.

The figures were revealed in a list of every Council’s road salt ordered this year, 2010/2011, compared with 2009/2010 – the first statistics of their kind to be compiled by the watchdog group.

And Bradford emerged in the top ten highest spenders on emergency supplies as salt supplies ran out in 2009. But the chart also revealed that City Hall increased its stockpile this year to 26,000 tonnes, compared to the 18,000 tonnes it had going into the winter of 2009.

A TaxPayers’ Alliance spokesman said by not stockpiling enough salt in 2009, City Hall would have had to spend more than twice the cost. Road salt can cost up to £85 a tonne in winter, compared to about £35 in the summer.

The spokesman said: “The Council tax payers are having to pay more because the Council didn’t prepare adequately for the winter.

“A least something positive has come out of it for Bradford, which has tried to rectify the position and stockpiled more salt.

“It looks like it has learned its lesson, but we’ll have to wait and see if it’s enough.”

The key findings of the report revealed the 205 councils had to spend an extra £10.5 million on buying emergency supplies in 2009-10. By far the highest spender was North Yorkshire County Council. with £533,652.

A Bradford Council spokesman said the Council had stockpiled 26,000 tonnes of salt, and so far 8,000 had been used.

It did not wish to comment on the TaxPayers’ Alliance figures.