ANGRY residents of Valley Drive, Ilkley, this week blamed Bradford Council for flooding which has affected their homes twice in the last 12 months.

A blockage at a culvert where Backstone Beck flows under Valley Drive sent water flooding across the road and into residents' gardens. The water was also sent cascading down the drive of Sacred Heart Primary School.

Council workers were forced to block off the road because of the flood and traffic was diverted elsewhere.

Valley Drive resident Michael Cook was incensed about the flood. He said: "I have lived here for 30 years and it has only flooded since they put that grate on 12 months ago."

Mr Cook said that he asked Bradford Council for sandbags to protect his home after the beck flooded on a previous occasion but he did not get any. He said that the flood waters had inundated his garden, ruining plants and washing away the soil.

He said that council workers came and cleaned the grate for two weeks after the last time Backstone Beck flooded, then as far as he knew, did not clean it again. He said that he called City Hall at 8.15am on Monday morning when he saw the water in the beck rising but more than two hours later there was only one council employee around.

More workers turned up as Mr Cook was speaking and began efforts to clear debris from the grating so the water could flow through.

Bradford Council's land drainage officer David Oldcorn was the first City Hall employee on the scene. He had been clearing debris from the grating but could not complete the job on his own.

Mr Oldcorn said that the new grate, which reached all the way up to the top of the tunnel, had been put on to stop debris blocking up the pipe which ran underneath Valley Drive.

Mr Oldcorn said: "When debris comes down in heavy rain, it used to be able to jump over the grille. If it blocks under the road there would be no chance of clearing it - it (the new grate) prevents those pipes from blocking."

But Ken Wardell, who lives in nearby Saint Mary's Close, said he had been clearing drains on the road himself to stop the flood water from Valley Drive running down and flooding old people's bungalows in the Close. He said that he had been born and brought up in Ilkley and was now over 70 years old. He said that the only time he had known Backstone Beck flood Valley Drive in all that time had been since Bradford Council had installed the new grate.

Denise Wingate, of Valley Drive, said she had lived in the area for about 35 years and had also only known it flood since the new grate was put in. She said that during the last flood, the water got into people's homes.

"My back garden is an absolute washout. They will send someone down to clean out the grill for the next few weeks and then they will forget about it," said Mrs Wingate.

Backstone Beck has been blamed in previous flooding incidents in the town. Tenants of the Ashlands Road Industrial Estate have been regularly inundated by the beck in bad weather.

A Bradford Council spokeswoman said: "The council does monitor this watercourse on a regular basis, particularly after heavy rainfall, and does its best to keep it clear of debris.

"However residents must play their part as well and we have had problems with garden rubbish being dumped in the beck which clogs up the grate. We have been out this morning to clear the grille."