Ten years on since Boxing Day floods hit West Yorkshire

The Boxing Day floods in 2015 caused widespread devastation across parts of West Yorkshire, including in Kirkstall and Hebden Bridge

Hebden Bridge, December 2015
Author: Katie LyonsPublished 26th Dec 2025

Today marks ten years since Storm Eva caused flooding across the region.

It took months for the community in Hebden Bridge to recover, but the impact is still felt now.

The licensee of the White Swan, Elizabeth said she still can't get insurance for her pub now. She said she woke up the morning of Boxing Day in 2015, and when she stepped out of bed, upstairs, her feet were wet.

Andrew Entwhistle is the lead flood warden for the town, and said: "The level round here was horrific, you saw beer barrels, wheely bins, cars were just floating off down the streets and the rivers like it was nobody's business.

He said it took "12 to 16 months to get back properly."

A plaque in the town shows how high the water reached.

Kirkstall was also impacted by the floods, with Chris Sharp, the keeper of Leeds Industrial Museum explaining how "Kirkstall Road effectively became part of the river and yeah, cut this community in half."

He also said that the museum has only recently recovered.

Since the floods ten years ago, Leeds now has a now flood alleviation scheme which offers some protection against any future risks of floods.

In Hebden Bridge, work is still ongoing to implement one.

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