Flooding has created havoc for residents in South Craven, with Silsden, Steeton, Kildwick and Cononley all badly affected.

Marion and Christopher Law, who look after Kildwick New Church Centre, turned up at the building on Tuesday morning to see it submerged in water.

Marion says: "This is the second time we have been flooded this year after the flash floods in June, but this is a lot worse.

"We have been caretakers here for 15 years and we've never seen it anywhere near as bad as this before.

"The water was about a couple of feet off the top of the door and the downstairs was completely flooded."

Among the casualties were four Fresian cows owned by George Emmott, at Currer Wood Farm, Steeton, which were run over on the Aire Valley Trunk Road after escaping their field next to Steeton roundabout.

A spokesman for the farm says: "The conditions are dreadful and we've never seen it as flooded as this before, especially at Steeton.

"We were out until 8 last night and were up at 5 this morning and we've been amazed how the floods just came overnight.

"We have some sheep further on into Silsden and we think they are okay. We also managed to take our two shire horses to another field in Silsden."

South Craven School has suffered minor effects from the flooding.

Head teacher John Vickers says pupil attendance at the Cross Hills school has been down by about 20 per cent and only four or five staff had not been able to come in.

He adds: "The biggest difficulty has been in relation to youngsters who come from Silsden. That's where the bulk of our absence has come from.

"There's also been problems in Lothersdale."

A mother and three children were trapped on the second floor of a house in Farnhill on Tuesday.

The family was warm and safe but had no food and had not eaten since the previous day.

Four feet of water outside the Skipton Road home had restricted them to the upper floor.

British Waterways had to divert flooding from the Leeds-Liverpool canal in Cononley to Bingley.

The root of the problem was Skipton Beck, which by Tuesday could no longer hold overflows.

Engineering supervisor Lynne Hamilton explains: "In storm conditions the canal overflows into the beck.

"But the water came up so much that the beck has flooded into the canal.

"We can pass water through to alleviate the problem so we are trying to pare water down the lock at Bingley."

Excess canal water is usually drained off into the river Aire but continuous rain has prevented this.

"The river runs close to the canal," says Lynne, "And we have overflow weirs along the canal. These overflow into the river but now the river is flooding. The river is not causing problems but be can't get rid of excess canal water."

Pictured, above, is a cyclist in Holme Lane, Sutton and, right, the scene at Kildwick.