JUNK which has been littering a riverbed ever since the Boxing Day floods of 2015 was finally hauled away in a clean-up operation today.

Badly rusted washing machines and fridges, bus seats, carpets, hose-pipes, ropes and trolleys were among the items fished out of the River Aire at Baildon Bridge, where the powerful floodwaters had devastated local businesses and homes.

A team of around 20 people, including staff from Bradford Council and the Environment Agency and volunteers from the Aire Rivers Trust, spent the day dragging items out of the water and up the banks by hand.

It was the first in a series of 10 action days taking place over the next eight months to clear up a stretch of the river in private ownership, while encouraging local landowners to do their bit too.

Kirsty Breaks, a senior drainage officer at Bradford Council, said summer was the best time to pull rubbish from the riverbed because the water levels were lower.

She said while there had been many clean-ups along the Aire since the flood, a stretch of riverbed running 500m each side of the footbridge still needed clearing.

She said: “The reason is primarily that it is private land, so essentially it’s got to the point of saying, ‘Nobody’s done it, it’s not been cleaned up, so let’s do something to start that clean-up process’.”

Anyone owning land on the banks of a river is responsible for keeping the riverbed clear from debris.

But project organisers said they recognised that businesses along the river at Baildon Bridge may have struggled with the practicalities of removing large items from the water, so the sessions aim to help them out while giving them opportunities to contribute to the work.

Jenny Barlow, flood and coastal risk management officer at the Environment Agency, said it was a great way to kick-start progress.

She said: “I think this is a really positive step.”

She said that while the debris in the river had been unsightly, it hadn’t posed a major flood risk, as they would have stepped in earlier to remove it if this had been the case.

The £10,000 project is mainly being funded by Bradford Council, with £2,000 from Yorkshire Water.

Landowners are also being asked to contribute to the cost or volunteer their time by helping out at future sessions.

A specialist contractor, the River Stewardship Company, is coordinating the sessions and providing equipment like boats, winches and waders.

Anyone wanting to volunteer at future clean-up sessions should contact the Aire Rivers Trust by emailing bradfordsbecks@gmail.com.