Will it be a white Christmas in Bradford this year?

Coral bookmakers, one of the city’s biggest bookies, will pay out to punters if fresh flakes of snow fall at Leeds-Bradford Airport on December 25.

Weather experts are predicting a 30 per cent chance of the white stuff this Christmas Day, and the odds for snow in Bradford are currently at 11-10.

That means anyone putting £10 on snow for December 25 would currently get £21 back, said Coral.

The first bet for Bradford snow was struck way back in May when the odds were 8-1.

“It’s basically a flick of a coin for Bradford but we are getting a flurry of bets in. It’s a certainty there will be snow somewhere in the UK this Christmas, we’re just hoping it won’t be everywhere,” said Coral spokesman Gary Burton.

“Other bookmakers tend to take bets on snow falling in city centres or at iconic landmarks, but we go for 15 airports round the UK, which includes Leeds-Bradford.”

He added: “You get a mixture of people coming in to put on bets. You get the amateur weathermen and those who rush in a month or so before when the weather turns.

“It’s important for people to know it has to be fresh snow that counts, not stuff that’s already on the ground.

“We’ll be having someone at Leeds-Bradford Airport who’ll be ready to ring us at the first sight of falling snow. It has to be a measure of snow on the ground to count.”

The recent poor weather has resulted in Coral taking ten times more bets nationwide this year than in any previous year, which of course means a bigger-than-ever payout.

Mr Burton said: “Punters are coming back to reinvest their winnings after it did snow in places last year. It was very rare – last year it was about the first time in 12 years we had fresh snow.”

The nearest location to Bradford where snow officially fell last Christmas was Manchester.