Flooding a 'one in 150-year event', says council

The M606 was closed on Monday because of the downpours

Flash floods which hit Bradford over the bank holiday were a "one in 150-year storm event", the city council has said.

The M606 motorway was closed on Monday following a sudden downpour, while parts of the city centre were also badly affected.

Killinghall Primary School was closed on Tuesday because of the previous day's flooding.

Bradford Council said its drainage systems had been "overwhelmed".

'Extraordinary event'

A spokesperson for the local authority said: "The flooding experienced in parts of the district and beyond was a one in 150-year storm event, which delivered an incredibly concentrated burst of very heavy rain in a very short time over a small area.

"We are mindful of the increases in extreme weather events, such as flooding, due to climate change.

"Although we regularly maintain the highway drainage infrastructure, extraordinary events such as these can overwhelm those systems very quickly."

The council said it was working with Yorkshire Water to assess what had happened on Vicar Lane in the city.

The sloping street, off Broadway, was one of the worst affected roads in the city centre.

The council added: "New highways schemes like the work taking place as part of the improvements to the city centre are designed in line with national standards for extreme weather events.

"We also look to replace and make improvements as and when possible, as works allow."

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