THE president of Bradford and Bingley Rugby Club says today’s flooding at their ground was not as bad as it could have been.

The Wagon Lane, Bingley, club fell victim to flooding, after it was earlier identified as the area most at risk in the district.

The club's pitch and surrounding areas, including car park, were flooded, but the club installed flood defences to protect its clubhouse in November last year, which are believed to have worked in this instance.

The club’s ground has fallen victim to a few floods over recent years, most notably on Boxing Day 2015.

Nick Patterson, club president, said: "I feel pretty stoic. We are used to it.

"We have had three major floods since the millennium where the water was 10 foot deep in the clubhouse. 2015 was the worst one. That was the one that nearly took us out of business. "We know it happens at the club and it's not as bad as it could have been. It does not take much to get the pitches flooded.

"We can't magic ourselves 100 foot above the water level, unfortunately. We got flooded in February 2020.

"We have to wait until it subsides and then assess what to do.

"Hopefully the water goes down as quickly as it came up.

"I have not been down there myself today, but the water is probably a couple of foot deep."