POLICE and firefighters were called in to help stranded motorists after the River Wharfe burst its banks in Ilkley on Saturday afternoon.

Heavy rain fell throughout the day and police officers from Operation Steerside, who are normally tasked with taking the district’s dangerous drivers off the road, tweeted a photograph of a lorry partially submerged in rising river water.

Fire crews from Otley were dispatched to recover cars and lorries from flooded roads in Ilkley and surrounding areas. Some residents were in danger of being stranded.

Police were sent to help a Bradford Council care worker cross the floods so she could look after a 94-year-old woman in her home.

A number of roads were closed as a result including the A65, A64, Middleton Avenue and Carters Lane.

A warning was issued for motorists not to approach the roads and to only travel if the journey was urgent.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed a crew from Otley had assisted in Ilkley with a person stuck in their car.

Meanwhile in Silsden on Saturday a wall crashed down on two vehicles. The heavy rain brought down a section of the garden retaining wall at Weavers Walk. A Mercedes and a Volvo estate parked beneath it were badly damaged.

No one was injured.

On Sunday morning Insp David Harland, of West Yorkshire Police, said officers were in the area providing support and assistance to members of the public where necessary.

The water receded quickly but the damage had already been done at Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club.

Staff and a team of volunteers worked around the clock on Sunday and Monday to clean up the debris, allowing the club to reopen on Tuesday morning.