A pensioner's 12-year fight to end flooding misery outside her home is still no nearer ending.

Jessica Little has repeatedly asked Bradford council to tackle the flooding which she says turns her pavement and road into a 'Windermere' for most of the year.

The 83-year-old claims that she has been complaining for years to the council about the problem at her council-owned bungalow in Rishworth Street, off Fell Lane, Keighley.

In June last year Mrs Little said she had frequently reported the flooding to her ward councillor, only to be told the road was not the council's problem because it was unad-opted, and therefore under the responsibility of residents.

But after the Keighley News contacted the council, officers discovered that they were responsible for the offending section of road after all - because the council did own it.

At the time a council spokesman said: "We will investigate and carry out whatever repair work is necessary."

But Mrs Little is still waiting. She says there continues to be a lake of water which only goes away when it is hot and leaves a yellow sludge behind. "The smell is terrible and it is not healthy," says Mrs Little who walks with the aid of sticks. "I have complained time and time again. The council have told me there is just no money to do the repairs."

She also claims that it is only a matter of time before someone is injured because of the water. "Only this week I nearly slipped and fell because of the wet path," she says.

A Bradford council housing spokeman says: "We will ask an expert from the highways division to see if any short-term remedy can be taken which will not make the problem worse. We need to try and find a way to drain the carriageway so the water does not pool.

"We do sympathise with Mrs Little but we just do not have the resources to rebuild the carriageway with a proper drainage system which would be the long-term solution.

"Such work would have to be carried out using money from the housing revenue account which is limited. We have to prioritise and this money is needed for council house repairs."

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