Motorists in Ilkley have been warned to expect severe delays as urgent repair work to the bank of the River Wharfe gets under way.

The work is to be carried out following the collapse of the river's retaining wall in several places at Manor Park, leading to fears about structural damage to the nearby A65.

The Highways Agency will start the £428,000 project on Monday. Work is expected to last until mid-February, with a break for Christmas and New Year from December 23 until January 4.

Highways Agency project manager Peter Scally said: "A steel pile wall will have to be driven into the south bank of the river for 180 metres between the Little Chef restaurant and Manor Park.

"Access to the site will be from the eastbound lane of the A65, which will be closed to traffic at off-peak times.

"For safety reasons, a 30mph speed limit will be in place, and traffic lights will be in operation at off-peak times.

"The lights will be removed at peak times in the morning and evening, but we do expect severe delays to traffic at off-peak times."

He said a safety barrier would be fitted on top of the piling and would run from Manor Park to Riversdale bungalow, the scene of a horrific accident in January 1995.

Taxi driver Mohammed Hussain, of Keighley, died after his Ford Orion car skidded out of control on ice on the A65 near the bungalow and hurtled over a barrier before plunging down a steep bank into the river. An inquest later heard that there had been problems with water running onto the road from a nearby field.

The Highways Agency spokesman said that the new safety barrier would form part of a general effort to improve road safety and was not a direct result of the accident.

He added that English Nature had been consulted about the work and had agreed that the use of steel piling was the least damaging option for the river and riverbank vegetation.

New trees and shrubs will be planted during the scheme.

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