A decade after devastating Boxing Day floods, law is still 'inadequate'

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service still has no statutory duty to respond to flooding - a decade after the Boxing Day deluge devastated communities across the region.

- by Nina Swift

A man wades through floodwater after rivers burst their banks across the region on Boxing Day 2015.

Deputy chief fire officer Dave Walton said the absence of a legal obligation leaves funding for flood response dependent on diverting money from other priorities, despite repeated extreme weather events and growing public expectations.

The issue came into sharp focus during the Boxing Day 2015 floods, when torrential rain brought widespread devastation across large swathes of West Yorkshire, including the Calder Valley and parts of Leeds.

Crews worked around the clock alongside police, ambulance staff, the Army and councils to rescue people trapped by rapidly rising water.

Mr Walton said: "It was the most significant flooding we'd experienced, bar none."