Silsden caravan owners have been given a warmer home for Christmas thanks to a Bradford Community Warmth project.

The last of the caravan homes at Cringles Park, in Bolton Road, are currently having their external wall cladding and roof and floor insulation installed as the festive season approaches.

The West Yorkshire Housing Partnership has funded the project in the hope that Cringles residents, mostly elderly people living on a fixed income, can reduce their gas bills at the same time as being energy efficient.

David Park-Goldthorpe, 73, said the insulation had made a big difference.

He said: “We have to buy gas cylinders to heat our homes and they cost £41.50 each. Sometimes in the depths of the cold I would use one every fortnight. Now I would say I buy around 30 per cent less.

“When I turn my heating off now, my home stays warm for much longer afterwards.”

Another resident, Jean Briggs, said the insulation was a vast improvement. “I am glad I have had it done.If I get up in the middle of the night, my home is not as cold,” she said.

The Building Research Establish-ment will be testing the thermal performance of the insulation to find a minimum standard that these types of homes have to be built to.

Councillor Adrian Naylor, the council’s executive member for regeneration and the economy, said: “We are funding these insulation measures to make these type of homes, that miss out on the most common insulation schemes, a great deal warmer.

National Energy Action will be monitoring the amount of extra money people have in their pockets from the scheme and incorporating the results into a national trial of park home insulation. Blue Flag Ltd is the company carrying out all the insulation .