Sandbags have been delivered to flooding hotspots in the Bradford district after persistent rain caused river levels to rise.

Bradford Council chiefs revealed on Tuesday night that plans had been made for evacuation of at-risk properties if necessary.

But there were hopes that a slowdown of rainfall could bring some respite, allowing levels of the River Aire and Wharfe to stabilise.

Follwing an urgent request, sandbags have been delivered to the Castlefields Lane area of Bingley, which was one of the worst-hit areas during the 2015 Boxing Day floods.

In an update just before 10.15pm, Bradford Council's chief executive Kersten England tweeted: "Rain slowed if temporarily. #teamBradford has reviewed hotspots + mitigation plans, cleared gullies + grates, delivered sandbags, planned evacuation, made contact with community groups. All partners working well through incident room."

Earlier, Bradford Council tweeted: "There are currently Flood Alerts in place for:

- The Upper River Wharfe

- The Upper River Aire

 - Middle River Aire Catchment

 - The River Worth Catchment"

"Things can change rapidly so please check flood warnings regularly."

One twitter user said: "Thank you #teambradford for responding to Castlefields Bingley urgent call out to deliver sandbags this evening due to the rapidly rising river Aire."

In Kirklees, the Council took the decision to close Calder View in Mirfield due to rising water levels.

Elsewhere in West Yorkshire, Calderdale Council said flood sirens in the village of Walsden in the west of the county had been activated, telling residents to turn off their utilities.

The council’s chief executive Robin Tuddenham later said no further activation of sirens was expected overnight as river levels were high but stable.

A major incident was also declared in Greater Manchester on Tuesday.

Assistant Chief Constable Nick Bailey, chairman of the GM Strategic Co-ordination Group for Storm Christoph, said: “Whilst we appreciate that everyone has been told to stay home due to the coronavirus pandemic, we want to make it clear that should members of the public need to evacuate to protect themselves due to flooding then that is the priority and you should follow your local authority’s advice regarding evacuation.”

Floodwaters have already risen in parts of the country, with a motorist pictured stranded in Leicester, and workmen in York prepared flood defences on Tuesday morning near the city’s River Ouse.

A major incident had already been declared in South Yorkshire in anticipation of flooding that could arrive in the coming days.

Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones tweeted on Monday evening: “Key risk areas have been inspected over the past 36 hours, sand-bags have been handed out in flood-risk areas & will continue over the next 24 hours.”

On Tuesday, North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service warned drivers not to take risks ahead of the expected weather.

A spokesperson said: “Just 60cm of standing water and 30cm of flowing water can be enough to float/move your vehicle. So please don’t take the risk!”

North Yorkshire County Council said more than 15,000 sandbags are at the ready around the county.