Keighley and South Craven was thrown into chaos this week as the area was hit by its worst floods for more than 50 years.

Hundreds of people had to be evacuated from their homes and businesses as the River Aire burst its banks following a week of torrential rain, leaving behind a trail of destruction that stretched from Crossflatts to Cononley.

Among the worst affected areas was Stockbridge, Keighley, where more than 400 people had to abandon their homes on Tuesday morning as four feet of water flooded houses and businesses.

Keighley town centre was also hit by rising water as the River Worth breached its banks on Wednesday afternoon, flooding roads and businesses.

Although people returned to their homes on Thursday morning as the waters abated, many are now bracing themselves for more of the same, with heavy rain forecast.

Residents in Stockbridge were provided with temporary refuge at Keighley Leisure Centre, with Bradford council and local businesses rallying around to provide bedding, towels and food.

Boats were used to ferry people to safety and even a lorry was used as a makeshift life raft with 50 people transported in its trailer.

Those who were left homeless were housed with friends or family, put up in bed breakfast establishments by Bradford council or accommodated in hotels by insurance companies.

Tammara Byrne, 16, said she and her boyfriend Paul Davies, 17, had been woken by Michelle Turpin at their home in Back Florist Street, Stockbridge. She said: "The fire brigade came and put us all into a boat and pushed us a couple of hundred yards to a fire engine and that took us to a bus which brought us to the leisure centre.

"When we left the water was just coming over the top step of the cellar towards the kitchen -- we blocked it off as much as we could and we don't know what the damage is going to be. We didn't have any warning that this was going to happen. The first we knew was at 4.45 this morning."

Miss Byrne's sister, Mrs Turpin, 31, of Bradford Road, Stockbridge, said: "I got a phone call at 5am from my husband who was on his way to work saying 'get out of bed because the Aire was flooding'. It was just coming into the garden when I got up and within half an hour I couldn't see the garden.

"We went around to my sister's at Back Florist Street with my three kids and it had started flooding into her cellar -- when we left it was coming up towards the kitchen. I think my house is going to be a write off and we only bought it last week.

"We don't know what the damage is yet but I think it's going to be a lot of money. I'm devastated -- I don't know whether to cry or what."

Veronica Kildunne, 31, of Colenso Walk, Stockbridge, said: "I was in the bath with my six-year-old son Sean and heard a lot of commotion outside -- we got out of the bath, looked out of the window and said 'we're flooded'.

"The whole garden was covered in water and it was just like a river -- I could only just see my washing line and the water was up to our letter box and starting to come into the kitchen. Looking at the bungalow over the road the car outside has almost disappeared from sight."

Keighley Fire Station commander John Davies said: "When we got to Stockbridge on Tuesday morning the water was three feet deep and it continued to rise by another 15 inches while firefighters helped to evacuate people from their homes."

For many the problems began on Monday morning when rain from over the weekend and blizzard conditions brought the roads to a standstill.

The rapid fall of snow made the road surface treacherous for motorists travelling through East Morton.

Drivers travelling towards Keighley along the A629 Halifax Road through Denholme faced gridlock due to an accident at the Flappit junction and flooding at Doctor's Bridge.

It was a similar story for people travelling into Keighley along Oakworth Road, with motorists taking more than an hour due to the congestion.

Motorists on the A650 Aire Valley Trunk Road towards Bingley also faced severe rush hour traffic jams with traffic tailing back to Marley.

At Airedale Hospital, in Steeton, contingency plans were put in place to accommodate day staff overnight and find cover for night staff struggling to reach the hospital because of the floods.

The extreme conditions also caused chaos on the railways as services between Leeds and Skipton were suspended due to flooding at Cononley.

Flooding at Cononley led to water infiltrating properties at Mill Bridge and the Snaygill waste water treatment plant.

Keighley Golf Club, Steeton Ings and pasture land at Kildwick and Silsden were also affected by the flooding.

A flooded road prevented access through Cowling with heavy snow and rain submerging the B6068 (Colne Road) near the Black Bull.

* Firefighters were called to Oakworth on Wednesday night after a stream burst its banks, flooding a business and a small number of homes.

Firemen from Keighley were called to the scene at Lane End at 6.30pm but were powerless to do anything about the water.

Firefighter Mark Cooke said: "The stream had burst its banks, flooding some houses and a joinery works.

"The stream had basically diverted itself and was just running straight through the workshop. There was nothing we could really do about it because there was nowhere to pump the water to and it was running too fast to divert it.''