AN Ilkley couple have been told that there is no chance of turning the swamp at the back of their home into a useful garden because there is not enough money in the pot.

But Bradford Council has been accused of overpricing a relatively simple job which would cure the problem of standing water and mud.

Since they moved into their council home in Sunset Drive in 1996, Peter and Pat Papworth have had to endure a completely waterlogged back garden which has been getting muddier and muddier.

Mr Papworth said: "We have put up with the garden getting steadily worse every year until now. We can't even let our dog out into it without her coming back in lathered up to the top of her legs in mud.

"The council have said they have no money for it and their comment was 'house repairs before gardens'.

"We understand this but what do we do in the meantime? It is just a mudbath now, made worse by two men when they came to lop down some branches from next door's trees. They had to use our garden to take them away so making it a lot worse. Had our garden been in a fit state this would not have happened."

The recent wet weather has made a difficult problem even worse than usual for the Papworths and their neighbours.

"You would have to wear swimming trunks if you went out in the garden now," Mr Papworth said this week.

A spokesman for Bradford Council said: "Due to the adverse weather conditions over the last few weeks, many gardens in the area have been left waterlogged.

"After a surveyor inspected the land on two separate occasions, it was found that there was no threat to the structure of the actual properties, and the access path to and from the flats remained clear.

"At this time the council has no plans to implement a major programme of land drainage in the area."

But Martin Smith (Ilkley - Con), a councillor who specialises in Ilkley's council housing problems, said that there was no need for a budget-busting major programme of land drainage.

Coun Smith said: "The council say it will cost £5,000 to put drainage in. There is a need for it because the water just seems to hang there.

"But land at the bottom of Ilkley drains quickly because it is on sand and gravel. All it wants is a line of drain put into the garden which runs into a settlement pit.

"It is a piece of cake, it is not £5,000 worth. They over-price any project. It is about 70 feet of trench which would take them about three days and would cost around £1,200 - they have just over-priced it."

Mr Papworth, who suffers from angina and emphysema, said: "We pay rent for a garden and we are supposed to look after the garden but it is an absolute mudbath and nothing else, but the council say they cannot afford to sort it."

Because of his illness, Mr Papworth is entitled to have his lawn kept tidy by council gardeners.

He said: "They came twice last year and the second time they came the mower got stuck so they had to leave it."