ROADS and houses in Wharfedale were under water for the second time this year as heavy rain caused what many claim were among the worst floods in living memory.

Hardest hit was the village of Castley, near Pool-in-Wharfedale, and the north side of Ilkley, where several homes were flooded. Two major roads in the valley were also closed to traffic on Tuesday - the A659 at Knotford Nook, and the A660 between Otley and Burley.

Castley is a notorious flooding black spot. The River Wharfe burst its banks and seeped into houses and farm buildings, despite residents' attempts to turn the river back with sandbags at their doors. Castley Lane became impassable to most cars.

In Otley, pupils of Prince Henry's Grammar School were sent home on Tuesday after the central heating

boilers stopped working.

The children's play area at Wharfe Meadows Park in Otley was completely flooded and parks staff had to sweep up a pile of mud and debris. The overflowing stream water also gushed across Farnley Lane.

Spectators gathered on Pool Bridge to watch heavily swollen flood waters thundering underneath. The banks of the river broke in several places, allowing water to spread far and wide across nearby fields.

The riverside football field was under a siege of water, and the main A659 road was closed off, with a deep flood at Knotford Nook.

Maureen Schofield, who has worked at the Shell petrol station next to Pool Bridge for ten years, said the flooding was exceptionally bad. She said: "I've certainly not seen it as bad as that as long as I've been here."

Others said they had never seen such extensive flooding in the village.

Many motorists attempted to brave the deepest floods on the A659. But while larger trucks, four-wheel drive vehicles and buses managed to plough through with relative ease, many car owners had to turn back, fearing they would get stuck in the water.

There were more deep floods between Otley and Burley, and Ilkley was put on standby for flooding in the early hours of Tuesday.

Otley WRVS members were called out at 4.20am on Tuesday, to set up a 'rest centre' in Ilkley's King's Hall.

Four gallant members braved the floodwaters lapping the roadside near Otley Bridge on Monday night, to pick up their equipment from Wharfedale Hospital. They drove down to Pool to pick up another member, before heading over a moorland road to Ilkley.

Co-ordinator Olive Cooper said: "When we got there nobody came. We were doing tea and coffee for people who were working at the site of the flooding, but then we got a call to go to Keighley, because 150 people had to be evacuated there."

She said the members had been called out to deal with a number of major incidents, but never before at night, or in their own area.

WRVS emergency services manager for West Yorkshire, Ray Evans, said: "These teams of volunteers are doing a great job, working through the night to make things a little bit easier for the people affected by these floods. As ever we are very grateful for their commitment."

Ilkley did not escape unscathed. Three houses on Denton Road and a block of flats on Gilstead Way flooded when the river burst its banks. Debris was carried into the fields, and muddy water flowed into the outdoor pool at Ilkley Lido.

Firefighters from Rawdon were called to the north side of Ilkley to help residents tackle the torrent. One Rawdon firefighter said: "We've been inundated with calls since the early hours. We've been trying to pump water away, but we can only pump out a certain amount at a time."

Farmers hurriedly rounded up the last of their livestock from fields as flood water continued to rise.

Joan Keighley, who farms at Manderlea Farm in Castley Lane with husband Willie and son Mark, said they were a foot underwater.

This is the second time this year the farm has been flooded, although they said more damage had been caused this time round. Mrs Keighley said the house, farm buildings and yard were all a foot underwater and one of the dogs had been forced to spend most of Monday night sat on top of its kennel.

She said: "We thought the worst had come yesterday afternoon and the river was going back down but then at 9pm last night (Monday) it started to rise again.

"By 9.30pm Riffa Beck went and then the river and we were just about to lift the last piece of underlay when the water rushed in," she added.

Fortunately for Mrs Keighley, most of the sheep which would normally have been in the yard and farm buildings, had been moved.

But she said they had lost a lot of hay, straw and corn.

"This is the worst it has flooded in the 23 years we've lived her," she added.

"We've got cows and calves up to their bellies in water and the dog looks rather sorry for himself."

Burley and Menston MP Chris Leslie has already secured the help of Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott to help ease the flood damage bill.

He said: "We have had a lot of problems in Burley. I mentioned Burley to the deputy PM and asked him to monitor with the local council about financial aspects. He agreed to look into this."

However, Wharfedale appears to have escaped lightly, compared to the Aire Valley. Many people in the Keighley area were evacuated from their homes. Some had to be rescued by boat. And alongside the dual carriageway near Silsden, it was impossible to tell where the river ended and the fields began. Only trees poked out above the sweeping flood planes.