TRAFFIC diversions in Burley-in-Wharfedale have led to confusion and confrontation as buses and cars roll through residential streets.

Scheduled diversions for motorists and regular bus services were set up on Monday as Yorkshire Water made a start on up to 17 weeks of work to the sewerage system on Main Street.

But one bus operator has now been forced to change its routes again after running into problems with protesting residents and a separate set of roadworks - and some Burley people claim there has been too little consultation.

Bus operator First is now sending its 733 and X84 bus services along the Burley bypass, after bus windows were smashed by tree branches. The firm also claims residents on Sandholme Drive had resorted to obstructing the street with parked cars.

The two bus services were expected to run via Station Road and Sandholme Drive, but First drivers turned up on Tuesday to find that Bradford Council was resurfacing Station Road, and parked cars were obstructing Sandholme Drive.

Windows of four buses were broken by branches as buses struggled to negotiate the narrow streets - although trees on the narrower stretches of the planned diversion route had been cut back.

First's schedules officer, Alan Smith, said: "We decided we couldn't risk passengers' lives through broken bus windows, and decided to go down the bypass instead."

But residents on the quiet residential streets say they were kept in the dark about the extent of the diversion - and were shocked to find double decker buses trundling past their front door on Monday morning.

Mother Rea Petty, 37, of Sandholme Drive, set up a makeshift barrier on her driveway to stop her youngest daughters, Alice and Grace, running out into the path of speeding traffic.

She said: "The buses are just flying past. Over the last two days it's been really, really busy with traffic and buses. I'm usually quite happy to let my children cross the road on their own, as there's so little traffic."

Mrs Petty said her husband advised her to call the police if she saw any buses speeding.

Another resident claimed the speed humps on Sandholme Drive were failing to slow down larger vehicles.

Bradford councillor Jim O'Neill (Lab, Odsal), who also lives on Sandholme Drive, attacked the consultation process.

"My fear is that the drivers will get used to taking this route, they'll come to use this as a rat run. I think the consultation has been appalling. The first thing we would have said was that we don't want double decker buses along here. This is a residential area."

Neither Mrs Petty nor Councillor O'Neill knew of any residents using parked cars to block the street, but Coun O'Neill said he had heard the suggestion of parking cars on the road to slow down the traffic.

Member of Burley Community Council, David Howe, said passengers were continuing to wait on Main Street for buses to Ilkley and Otley, and many were still unsure of the diversion routes.

"To be fair to Yorkshire Water, they did hold a meeting a week or two ago, and invited everyone in the village. About 27 people came along, it wasn't particularly well-attended."

The bus services now follow a loop along part of Main Street and Grange Road, before passing Burley on the bypass. The current diversion route is expected to be in place for around two weeks, and is expected to change on August 12, when the roadworks will move further along Main Street.

Further information on bus routes and timetables is available by calling Metro on (0113) 2457676 or First on (0113) 2420922.