No less than 16 environmental wardens are to be employed across the Bradford district in an unprecedented move designed to raise the tone of deprived communities.

The community wardens, who will operate in pairs, will form a crucial part of the £4 million Environmental Task Force set up to tackle the district's eyesore grotspots.

The wardens are being recruited from communities where they will operate to ensure they have the necessary knowledge and pride to flourish in the role.

Royds Community Association will manage the wardens, who will tackle litter, fly tipping and graffiti from bases in each of the eight operating areas.

Wardens have already been recruited in Girlington, Great Horton, Eccleshill and Bradford Moor and there will be further recruitment events for Manningham, East Bowling, Keighley and Barkerend in October. The wardens will cost £560,000 over two years.

Sal Bullimore, who is managing the wardens scheme, said: "It is all about making people a bit more proud of where they live. There are already wardens through Trident and on the community housing trust's estates, but their role is all-encompassing.

"With these wardens, they will have a much more specific role focused on the environment. That hasn't happened before."

Ray Bage, who has just started as a community warden in East Bowling, said: "We will mainly be tackling environmental problems but we will be sign-posting other problems as well. It's good for community safety as well because it's extra people patrolling the streets making them cleaner, greener and safer."

Full details of the new Environment Task Force, and the specific areas it will cover, were unveiled in a Bradford Council report.

The task force will transform 50 derelict sites into green spaces and another 50 clean-ups will be done at places where littering and fly-tipping is a problem.

The two-year project, paid for by the Government's Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, will focus on 13 areas of the district considered to be within the ten per cent most deprived communities which also have a poor visible environment.

The report, drawn up by the Council's director of environmental services, provides a breakdown of how the £4m will be spent over the two years.

A total of £300,000 will be spent on the Community Design Service to supplement the existing team with three full-time landscape design staff who will draw up plans to turn 50 derelict sites across the district into green spaces.

The 13-strong Implementation Team will cost just over £1m over the two years and will deliver the improvement works to the 50 sites.

They will also undertake low-level repair, such as repairing boundary walls, to improve the visible environment.

The Clean Teams will cost £1.3m and there will be one team designated to each of the 13 task force areas in the district.

Each team will have a van, a driver and two labourers supported by eight beat sweepers. An awareness campaign, including advertising on buses, promotions and road shows, will cost £450,000.

Work will also be undertaken with schools, churches, mosques, community information points, health service providers and businesses to ensure they are aware of the work of the task force and how to get involved.

The 13 targeted areas

1. Holme Wood and Bierley 2. Lawkholme, Keighley 3. Shipley, Frizinghall and Wrose 4. Allerton, Lower Grange and Fairweather Green 5. Girlington 6. East and West Bowling 7. Manningham and Bolton 8. Eccleshill 9. Little Horton 10. Great Horton, Scholemoor and Lidget Green 11. Barkerend and Undercliffe 12. Bradford Moor and Thornbury 13. Buttershaw and Woodside