Businesses in Keighley were counting the cost of the deluge on Monday as many were flooded for a third time in just six weeks.

Among those worst hit were premises in Becks Road, off Oakworth Road, where angry business owners had the unpleasant task of cleaning out their flooded premises yet again.

Garry Ogden, managing director of Ogden Fibres, could only watch as firefighters pumped out dirty water from his company's 13,000 sq ft mill floor. He said: "We export a significant amount of produce and something like this is knocking us back every time.

"Our company is fortunate in that production hasn't been affected, but it is just the sheer annoyance of it.

"We had a degree of flooding ten days before this that has led to tarmac in our entrance lifting."

Many say the problems have arisen since part of the playground in St Andrew's Primary School, in Lustre Street -- just above the businesses -- collapsed under the last deluge two weeks ago. When the storm hit Keighley again on Monday, water cascaded through the hole in the corner of the playground and washed away rocks and earth underneath, sending a river of debris towards the businesses.

Colin Watts, boss of wrought iron manufacturers Catreset Services, said: "We were flooded once last year but this year we have been flooded four times in just a couple of months.

"All of the rubble is coming down the hill when we get heavy rainfall and is blocking our drains.

"It is the design of the school that has done this because the camber of the playground comes down to this corner where it has collapsed."

Gary Eastwood, managing director of Pennine Weavers, said: "The bigger picture is that the wall around the playground will collapse and it needs sorting out before the children are back in school." Mr Eastwood added that Bradford Council had been prompt and had done a good job of clearing debris away.

A council drainage spokesman said there has been a problem with heavy surface water running on to the site of St Andrew's Primary School from nearby land. He added: "Highways officers have been assisting with the clear up operation and have removed the flood debris. We are now looking at the recent flooding problems in Keighley to see what future preventative measures could be taken."

Keighley's deputy mayor is calling for action to clean gullies after floodwater caused a 10ft wall to collapse.

Councillor Amjad Zaman blamed a lack of gully maintenance for the collapse of a stone wall at the end of Lund Street. His fury was shared by residents in the street whose homes were flooded again, in spite of makeshift barricades they erected.

Cllr Zaman said: "Bradford Council said the first time this happened that it was a once in a 30-year event and that lightning doesn't strike twice, but now it's happened a third time in a row something should be done.

"These people are paying their council tax and Bradford is doing nothing to clean out these gullies. It was just lucky that there was no one underneath the wall or that children weren't playing next to it because someone could have been killed."