A top-level meeting is being demanded in a bid to resolve once and for all Keighley's traffic turmoil.

The call has been made by a leading local councillor, who warns that the town "will die a death" if action is not taken. Cllr Irene Ellison-Wood said she had received a deluge of complaints from the public about Keighley's traffic-choked town centre.

And she added that as a regular bus user she had experienced at first-hand the peak-time highway havoc.

Now Cllr Ellison-Wood, who represents Keighley West ward on Bradford Council, says local authority transport chiefs, bus company bosses and other interested parties must get together to find a solution.

She told us: "This is a problem that affects everyone, not just motorists.

"Buses are running late because the drivers are facing massive difficulty getting across town, elderly people who rely on public transport face having to stand for long periods waiting at stops, and shops will suffer when people who cannot get into the town centre go elsewhere.

"I can speak from personal experience for those like myself on the Braithwaite estate who depend on buses to get around, but I am sure I speak for the whole of Keighley.

"The traffic has got progressively worse, and I am bitterly disappointed that still nothing has been done.

"Surely it is not beyond the realms of possibility for a cross-party representation of councillors, bus company management and council highways officers to meet and sort out some solutions.

"The situation has got so bad that at peak times traffic simply comes to a standstill, and it can take more than 10 minutes just to travel a few hundred metres. I was in town on Saturday and the gridlock was mind-blowing.

"The people of Keighley deserve better than this."

Her call for action is supported by Graham Mitchell, communications manager with Keighley & District Travel (K&DT), who agrees that the situation is deteriorating.

But he says that meetings are already held on a regular basis, and he reiterates his belief - highlighted in the Keighley News last month - that an in-depth traffic survey is needed.

He told us this week: "I welcome Councillor Irene Ellison-Wood providing hard evidence, from her own experience as a valued customer of K&DT, that the traffic congestion is seriously delaying local services.

"There are on-going meetings with the council highways people and police, but the highways officers do not seem to be rushing to assist us. It's fine having meetings but unless there are actions resulting from these, nothing on the ground changes."

He criticised the failure so far to implement parking restrictions in Skipton Road, approved last December by Keighley Area Committee, which he said would help alleviate problems.

"The scheme wouldn't on its own resolve all the difficulties, but it is part of a jigsaw and the problems in Skipton Road are a contributing factor," he said.

"Another contributory factor is the failure to reinstate white lining and yellow boxes on the resurfaced area between the library and the former Grinning Rat, which is causing congestion that didn't exist before at the bottom of Devonshire Street."

A spokesman for Bradford Council's transportation and planning department said it was aware of people's concerns about the traffic situation in Keighley, and had spoken to the town council about the issues.

He added: "A major scheme was drawn up in the early 1990s after a great deal of consultation and research, but this was rejected and no formal decisions have been made to take matters forward to date.

"Some of the problems brought up are short term, occurring only on particular days and at certain times, such as delays in Cavendish Street on a Saturday. A satisfactory resolution of such issues may be difficult to achieve."

He said it was not feasible to draw up any solutions until the impact on traffic of proposed major developments, including the relocation of Keighley College and a new Asda supermarket, was known.