FLASH floods brought chaos to Bradford this evening as the heavens opened which left major roads impassable and houses flooded.

Motorists who tried to drive through flooded sections of road were left counting the cost as engines failed and their vehicles were flooded.

Meanwhile staff and customers at a children's play area were left mopping up after the roof apparently failed and brought down a suspended ceiling tiles inside.

The Little Horton and Clayton areas were particularly affected by the rain, but West Yorkshire fire and Rescue Service said Bradford was the worst hit area within the county when thunderstorms brought a spell of intense rain yesterday afternoon.

Firefighters were called in to pump water from a basement kitchen of a house in Larch Mount, Bradford, after rainwater overwhelmed drains and spilled into the building, leaving the room knee deep in water.

Elsewhere, several basement rooms in St Margaret's Road and another in Horton Grange Road were flooded as water ran into the properties, but by the time firefighters arrived most of the water had drained away.

Cellars of other houses were also filled with water.

Staff at the High Five play area, part of the Five Alive centre in York Road, Fairweather Green, were left clearing up after the building was affected by the conditions. A customer said they had to leave when water brought down parts of the ceiling. Management declined to comment.

The M606 northbound had to be closed at Staygate after all three lanes were left underwater, leaving it unpassable to traffic until engineers had been to clear it.

A driver had to be rescued from his car after it became stuck in flood water in Pasture Lane and motorists were caught out by the conditions at other locations, including Horton Avenue.

A fire service spokesman said: "It was really busy, not only with flooding but with fire alarms going off because of the weather.

"In Thornton Road, grates were lifting out of the road and water was gushing out like fountains."

Weather forecasters have been warned that more bad weather may be on the way on Sunday, with the possibility of heavy rain as an area of low pressure heads across the Atlantic. It remains unclear whether it will hit Britain, however.