HEAVY flooding has led to calls for better drainage to be installed on the A659 Pool-in-Wharfedale to Otley road.

Last week's stormy weather saw two sections of the road - east of Longlands Cottages and east of Caley Lodge - completely submerged on Thursday and half of the carriageway remained flooded the following day.

Those parts of the road are regularly waterlogged and community group POOL2020 chairman Bernard Mitchinson says it is high time action was taken to tackle the problem.

In an e-mail to parish councillors he says: "Flooding on Otley Roadis again causing delays, danger, disruption and economic loss. Will the parish council be requesting drainage works to permanently eliminate this problem?"

Speaking to the Wharfedale and Airedale Observer, Mr Mitchinson said: "The solution seems obvious. I think drainage to the river would solve the problem, because the road is higher than the river at those points. I can't see that would be a problem.

"Whenever there is flooding it happens there, it's hardly a one off'.

"It sometimes floods one side of the carriageway with moderate rainfall, but when it's more than usual it gets completely covered as it did last Thursday and road becomes blocked.

"On Friday half the carriageway was still flooded at each point, so drivers had to cross over to either the crown of the road or the other side to get past."

Parish council Chairman Councillor Hazel Lee said she would be putting the question of improving drainage on Otley Road/Pool Road on the agenda for February's parish meeting.

Coun Lee, meanwhile, and ward Councillor Barry Anderson (Con, Adel and Wharfedale) both contacted Leeds City Council about a torrential' waterfall pouring onto the A660, beside its junction with Old Pool Bank, last Thursday.

The water was shooting out of a gully at the top of the bank beside the road at its notorious corner near KT Green car showroom - and hitting the road with such force drivers were swerving to avoid it.

Coun Anderson said: "I contacted the street cleansing department and was told the water was cascading off the fields because of the amount of rainfall we've had over the last week or so. The fields couldn't absorb any more.

"So when that water, along with water from other directions, came down towards the gully with such torrential force it was just too much for the gully to cope with.

"There were 16 locations across Leeds where this was happening and city council officers were having to run around pumping out the water from the gullies.

"I asked for it to be done here as quickly as possible, because if it was still there with people coming around those corners at the wrong speeds during the rush hour it could have been really dangerous."

The gully seemed to be working normally again by the afternoon, though on Sunday one side of the road near the Blue Barn pet food store on the road between Otley and Pool was under water.