The devastating Boxing Day floods dominated a council meeting, as councillors from all parties agreed lessons needed to be learned about its response to the crisis.

Councillors heard that some flooding victims had waited days for officials from Bradford Council to visit, others were passed from pillar to post as they called different agencies for help and yet more people were told on Christmas Day the only way they could get any sandbags was by buying them from a DIY shop, which was closed.

The meeting of the full council – the first since the floods – heard the devastation had cost the district an estimated £5m. It saw all parties agree to a comprehensive review of how the authority and other bodies handled the situation and what can be done to prevent similar scenes from happening in the future.

Councillors shared hair-raising stories from their own patches about how people had been affected by the floods.

There were accounts of caravans left up trees, elderly people stranded in their own homes wearing sopping-wet slippers and holes torn in the sides of buildings by the sheer force of the water.

Many councillors said gullies and culverts in their areas had not been cleared of debris, adding to the flooding woes, while the council’s helpline number also came in for fierce criticism.

Cllr Val Slater, deputy leader of the Labour-run council, said: “It’s fair to say our response as a council was a little bit mixed. It was a little bit like a curate’s egg, it was good in some places but bad in others.”

Cllr Simon Cooke, leader of the Conservative group at Bradford Council, praised the way communities had rallied together during the floods.

He said this had shown everyone “how strong our communities are when faced with this kind of challenge”.

But he said the council’s communication strategy during times of crisis had to improve.

Cllr Doreen Lee (Lab, Keighley East) accused the government of a North-South divide over its flood defence spending.

She said: “The government has got to get up to the North of England and do things for everybody.”

She slammed Northern Powerhouse minister James Wharton for turning up to see local flooding victims dressed “in his shiny shoes, which looked like he was going to the races”.

And she was also critical of Yorkshire Water, saying: “Don’t tell me they are good because I would like to shoot every one of them. They were hopeless.”

Many councillors said the council’s response to a flooding event had to be ready 365 days a year.

Cllr David Heseltine (Con, Bingley) said things would have been far worse in his area if it hadn’t been for the voluntary Bingley Flood Support Group.

He said: “It was three days before we saw council officers, and that was people coming back on duty.”

Councillor Alun Griffiths (Lib Dem, Idle and Thackley) said extreme weather events were happening more frequently, and asked whether Bradford Council should start considering 100-year weather events as 10-year events instead.