Commuters faced a nasty shock as a number of cars at Low Well, just off Leeds Road, Shipley, were sumerged when the nearby beck overflowed.

Onlooker Anthony James, of Thackley, said: "The people who own these cars are going to be surprised when they come back. They didn't think they would come back to this.

"I have never seen this before here. I have been down here a few times and I did not even know it was a river. I thought it was just a little trickle. It's unbelievable to see this."

Most of the vehicles are thought to belong to commuters who had parked up in the morning to use nearby Shipley railway station.

There was also widespread frustration at the station yesterday as a number of services to Leeds and Skipton were severely delayed or cancelled because of flooding.