AN OTLEY man whose home was completely flooded by the River Wharfe is hitting out at work which he says is increasing the danger.

Kevin Green's house on Farnley Lane had to be renovated after the Boxing Day floods in 2015.

Flood defences are now being constructed on Billams Hill but Mr Green says defences are being weakened at Otley Weir because of an environmental scheme.

He said:"Part of the work to prevent future flooding has been that some vegetation has been removed from little islands next to the weir. So, when I noticed the other day that some trees have been felled on those islands, I thought it was a continuation of that scheme which aims to make the river flow more efficient and thereby alleviate flooding.

"However the trees which I have recently observed have been felled, and have been allowed to fall into the water, where they remain. I have enquired about what plans exist for these trees and expected to hear that they will be carted away as soon as suitable equipment was brought in to remove them, but what I actually discovered, if true, is simply astonishing.

"It seems the plan is for these trees to be left in the water as natural barriers to the flow of the river in the hope and expectation that they will attract but impede the flow of gravel, thereby providing natural gravel banks or dams which, it seems, are beneficial for fish spawning.

"Normally I would be in favour of such an environmental effort, but it just seems to be the height of folly to purposefully slow down the flow of the river at precisely the same spot as others have been spending millions of pounds to increase it.

"It goes without saying that I believe this activity to be totally unwise as well as dangerous to the flood protection of the houses nearby which have previously flooded."

Mr Green called for environmental works to be transferred to a much less vulnerable stretch of the river.

He added: "It just seems so crazy that money and effort has gone into clearing the river of excess vegetation below the weir and then someone then comes along and blocks the very place that has been cleared."

Otley and Yeadon ward councillor Colin Campbell said his understanding was that the works were part of the wider flood management scheme which included works below the weir to improve water flows.

He said: "I admit dropping a couple of trees seems counter intuitive but it appears to have been included in the modelling for the works. It will improve the biodiversity below the weir."

Cllr Campbell had asked Leeds City Council earlier about the work to the islands and was told: "Agreement of works in the area was a difficult balance between floodrisk and environmental issues. Discussions concluded that it was the low lying vegetation that provided the most environmental benefit in this area and the taller trees that were the greatest contributor to flood risk. The tree kickers have been installed in a way that will have less effect in flood flows as in these events they will be fully submerged and less likely to catch the debris that comes downstream during a flood event.

"We will continue to seek clarification on this issue and make further amendments if necessary."

The council's flood alleviation scheme for the city has also drawn criticism from Extinction Rebellion. Residents affiliated with the campaign group and the Armley Trees Campaign held a protest at Kirkstall Bridge on Saturday against tree felling there and at other sites in Leeds.They held placards with slogans such as “Save Trees, Save Leeds, Save the Planet” and “Leeds City Council can’t see the wood for the trees.” They distributed a leaflet to passers-by claiming that a “win-win” plan had been proposed to the council, which would relocate artificial flood walls and sheet piling further away from the river, to save mature trees and other vegetation and wildlife habitats in the floodplain.