The Housing Minister is to visit Keighley to see for himself the state of homes branded as "squalid".

Iain Wright, Under Secretary in the Department for Communities and Local Government, has accepted an invitation from Keighley MP Ann Cryer.

She intends to show him around the Bradford Community Housing Trust (BCHT) homes on the Woodhouse estate, where she says tenants are living in damp and miserable conditions.

They have been at the centre of a storm in which Mrs Cryer has blamed the trust for dragging its feet in getting on with repairs.

The trust has admitted tenants are living in homes that need £45,000 of repairs each.

Mrs Cryer said that Mr Wright had confirmed he would be visiting the estate but dates had yet to be confirmed.

She said: "I want him to be able to see the amount of money which will be needed.

"Geraldine Howley, BCHT chief executive, and I should be singing from the same hymn sheet in terms of working towards improving the housing conditions for tenants."

The minister is also expected to be shown a gallery of photographs which focus on rising damp, crumbling plaster and exposed and cracked brickwork.

The gallery has been compiled by Keighley councillors Doreen Lee, Malcolm Slater and Stephen Pullen.

Councillor Lee said: "We are collecting photographs of the condition of these homes - some from tenants and others taken by ourselves.

"We will be presenting these pictures to the trust and the Minister to show exactly the terrible conditions people have to endure."

She was backing a call by tenants for the properties in Woodhouse to be demolished and new homes re-built. Councillor Lee attended a recent meeting between the trust and tenants, when it was announced a steering group had been set up, including tenants, to spearhead improvements on the estate.

Mrs Howley said she would be delighted to meet the Minister at the estate, which would give an opportunity to outline the plans for improvements.

"We have already held extensive consultations with tenants on the investment options of refurbishing existing homes or building high quality new homes," she said.

The trust was also actively looking at the possibility of acquiring non-BCHT owned land on the estate's central area for possible new affordable housing.