BELEAGUERED residents are stepping-up a 20-PLUS-YEAR battle for action to end a flooding nightmare.

The neighbours say they are terrified for their properties – and people's safety – every time it rains.

Water up to several feet deep regularly accumulates in the road outside their homes.

They have pressed Bradford Council for action, but say nothing has been done.

Sandra Gray has lived at the spot – Westybank Croft, in Redcar Lane, Steeton – for 22 years.

"There is a culvert running under the road and then beneath a property," she says.

"We have to endure flooding whenever it rains.

"In all the years I've been here it has been an issue, and with every rainfall it is getting worse.

"Nothing has been put in place by Bradford Council to fix this problem – all we get are a few sandbags, and some cones to place across the flooded road.

"It is totally unacceptable, considering the amount of council tax that has been paid by residents over the years.

"We've had enough of being ignored and swept under the carpet.

"There is supposedly 'ringfenced' provision within the council tax specifically for addressing flood risk management, so we are bewildered as to why we've had nothing spent on resolving our constant flooding issues.

"This is all having a detrimental effect on our wellbeing."

She added: "The council prepared a strategic local flood risk management strategy for the district to reduce flooding risks from surface water, ordinary watercourses, groundwater and reservoirs.

"It is duty bound to investigate flooding incidents in order to understand their cause and ensure that appropriate agencies play their part in the effective management and resolution of such occurrences.

"Why is Westybank Croft not identified as a priority location for further work or detailed investigations?

"Is Bradford Council waiting for the road to collapse, as it did at a corner higher up several years ago, before it does anything?

"We are considering making a complaint to the Ombudsman over its handling of this situation."

Fellow resident Adam Wilkinson has lived at the spot for nearly five years.

He says the flooding is worsening and can occur several times a week, even after relatively light rainfall.

"It is an ongoing worry for residents," said Mr Wilkinson, a landscape gardener.

"Road drainage is just totally inadequate.

"The water can be two or three feet deep, so it's quite a significant amount.

"There doesn't need to be much rain for flooding to occur, so the situation has been exacerbated by the recent storms."

The father-of-two says there are also serious traffic dangers.

"It is an unlit 60mph road and we are on a blind corner," he added.

"Cars come flying around the corner and then hit the water. Drivers don't realise how deep the water is.

"In the space of just five days, eight vehicles were written off or badly damaged."

Bradford Council told the Keighley News, the sister paper of the Telegraph & Argus, that it is trying to find solutions to the problem.

A spokesperson said: "Our drainage team has been working on a scheme to divert water away from the culvert in the longer term, however the solutions identified don’t meet Government-set criteria to qualify for funding.

"We will continue to look for solutions and funding sources for this issue."