A steep road was closed after water from a burst main turned the surface to sheet ice.

Park Lane, Keighley, was closed for six hours between Glen Lee Lane and Hainworthwood Road as Yorkshire Water repaired the main and Bradford Council staff tackled the ice.

The three-inch pipe was reported as leaking at 4am today and the sub-zero temperatures turned the surface into solid ice between Dawson Road and Hainworthwood Road.

Keith Escritt, Bradford Council’s principal engineer, said highways officers were called to the scene shortly before 4am by police.

“We found one Yorkshire Water employee struggling to turn the valves so we assisted him and had the road closed by 4.30am.

“Gritters have been up and down doing the road three times but the ice is so thick we have been using a JCB to scrape it up.”

A section of the main had to be closed between Dawson Road and Parkwood Rise for safety reasons.