A VETERAN Tory MP and former party leader is supporting a campaign to bring a disused railway tunnel back to life.

Iain Duncan Smith has praised the push to restore historic Queensbury Tunnel – built as part of the Halifax, Thornton & Keighley Railway – and transform the route into a cycleway.

It is feared Highways England's Historical Railways Estate, which looks after the 1.4-mile-long tunnel on behalf of the Department for Transport, could begin work to infill key parts of the structure this summer if a transfer of ownership to another statutory body isn't agreed.

Mr Duncan Smith said he thought the restoration project was "an excellent idea".

“I lived in the area from 1985 to 1987 and know all about the tunnel – though in those days that is all it was," he added.

“I am completely in favour of the scheme because it is sad to see these great examples of Victorian engineering go.

“It is a great community project by people who want to reclaim it.

“I do not want to step on the local MP’s toes but I will certainly speak about the campaign to the Secretary of State.”

He was invited to visit the tunnel and hear about the campaign by Queensbury Conservative councillor Andrew Senior.

“Mr Duncan Smith had been asked by the party to give a talk at a dinner at the Dubrovnik Hotel, in Bradford, and I saw it as a great opportunity to invite him up here to see what the Queensbury Tunnel Society campaigners are hoping to achieve,” said Cllr Senior.

“He was very positive about it and I am more optimistic about its future now that it has attracted public attention and has his support.

“It would be a great shame if the structure was lost for ever.”

Norah McWilliam, of the Queensbury Tunnel Society, said she was delighted Mr Duncan Smith had taken an interest.

“We are pleased he is going to approach the Secretary of State and speak about the project for us," she added.

"We’re working hard to promote our vision of the tunnel as a feat of Victorian engineering that still has a valuable role to play in the 21st century."

The tunnel was built in the 1870s, but has been derelict since 1956.

Campaigners last month received a boost when a full meeting of Bradford Council agreed that the authority should look into adopting the structure.

And this week, the society has published online a series of filmed interviews promoting the cause.

A different two-minute-long video was released each day.