A blocked drain sent rivers of floodwater into the gardens of houses on Halifax Road, in Cullingworth.

And one carriageway of the main village road was blocked by a 20ft long lake before Yorkshire Water workers managed to solve the problem. Water began to pool on Friday and residents in low-lying homes beside the drain were given sandbags to protect their properties.

Susan Purdey has lived in one of the smart semi-detached houses for 30 years and told what happened.

“Water was running like a river down our drives and it was half way across the road on Saturday.

“Yorkshire Water brought sandbags and highways people put cones and warning signs out.

“But that didn't stop some idiots charging through it so fast water splashed over my garden wall. Anyone with a bit of gumption would have waited and driven round it,” she said.

Staff from Yorkshire Water returned on Sunday and cleared the drain and the road was back to normal by yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, heavy downpours caused disruption to trains on the Airedale line yesterday morning following reports of flooding on the tracks near Crossflatts Station.

Northern Rail said trains were stopped for 20 minutes while the situation was dealt with.

However, the Bradford district escaped the worst of the hurricane-force conditions that battered Britain late Sunday and early yesterday and left hundreds of thousands of homes without power and travellers facing transport chaos.