Anger has erupted in the wake of Keighley's flood chaos.

Water cascaded into dozens of homes and businesses across the area during Monday's torrential downpour leaving the region's fire service at full stretch responding to calls.

Now, as victims still battle to come to terms with the devastation caused to their property, blame for much of the problem is being levelled at Bradford Council.

It has been accused of failing to properly maintain the town's gullies.

But one senior Tory councillor said gullies were kept clear and that simply too much rain fell on Monday for them to cope with.

The comment is dismissed by campaigners who are pressing for better maintenance of the area's drainage network.

Labour councillor Andy Mudd, who represents Keighley West Ward on the council, said he had been swamped with calls from members of the public concerned about broken culverts and blocked gullies.

Many of the complaints following Monday's floods related to difficulties in the Bankfield Street and Braithwaite Road area, but he said the problem was much more widespread.

His home neighbourhood at Utley was among the areas hit.

Cllr Mudd claimed the council had serious questions to answer.

He said: " Responsibility for culverts lies with the landowners and repairing those can be difficult, but the council can ensure gullies are kept clear. That would relieve us of a lot of the problems.

"The fact is that many gullies around Keighley are blocked and we have drainage systems that can't cope. The council has got to do more to address the problem."

He added: "Residents in Bankfield Street asked two weeks ago for gullies to be cleared, but the council just sent along a sweeper machine!

"There is a lot of mud being washed down from the quarry at Braithwaite Edge and the problem is getting worse. It's wholly intolerable for people living on that hill.

"There are problems in many parts of the town. At Bar House Lane gardens get washed away when it rains.

"And in Highfield they have got to look at the impact of the traffic-calming features. I am in favour of the measures, but have they blocked gullies or diverted watercourses, because flooding is now an issue in Belgrave Road?"

Tory councillor Anne Hawkesworth -- Bradford Council's environment portfolio holder -- said that following recent flooding problems in Highfield, 29 out of 31 gullies in that area were cleared. Two were not done because they require engineering work.

She said: "The gullies cannot cope with the enormity of some of these downpours. There's such a force of water it runs over the top of the gullies."

Fellow Tory councillor Andrew Mallinson (Keighley North) said problems were being compounded by people pouring waste oil, and even concrete and plaster, down drains.

A council highways spokesman said that officers had been assisting with the clean-up operation following Monday's floods, clearing gullies blocked by flood debris and distributing sandbags to protect properties in the event of further rain.

He added: "There are 80,000 gullies across the district and these are cleared annually, and extra visits are made to any which are blocked. Residents who are concerned about a gully in their area should call the council hotline on 01274 751000."