VOLUNTEERS have been working to clean debris dumped on a nature reserve by the Boxing Day floods, which submerged it under several feet of water.

Denso Marston nature reserve in Baildon lies next to the River Aire, and disappeared under water during the floods which affected large parts of the Bradford district.

When the water cleared it left the reserve covered in detritus that had been washed down river, with items as varied as leather furniture, half a surfboard and a bra being deposited on the site.

On Saturday more than 60 volunteers from groups such as the Friends of Bradford Beck and the Friends of Denso Marston, braved more rain and came to help clean all the debris from the site, filling dozens of bags with waste.

With the flood waters having risen about seven feet above the site, much of the debris was still hanging overhead from tree branches, and near the entrance to the site what seemed like an industrial waste bin was lodged between two branches over the river.

The site's education room, used by the reserve's "Spiders" club and local schools to educate young people about nature, was flooded, and although the building is still standing, much of the furniture, books and supplies were destroyed.

A fundraising website has now been set up to try to raise £5,000 to replace these items.

Despite the mess left by the receding waters, Steve Warrilow, the warden for the reserve, said that the coming 18 months could see unexpected changes to the flora at the site, with tonnes of silt and seeds not native to the area that had been deposited by the river bringing more variation to the nature reserve.

He said: "The water came up to about seven feet above the ground. We lost the education centre, it destroyed everything inside. You look at all the waste left here and you just think 'oh my goodness' but the actual reserve itself didn't suffer from much damage. Only two or three trees were knocked down.

"With all the silt that has been washed on to here it will have created a new habitat. I'm sure some new plants will come through in the next year, but we don't know which ones, it's quite exciting.

"We're a releasing site for hedgehogs, and we were worried we had lost them, but a few days ago we saw some footprints which was a great sign.

"It will take us several weeks to clear everything up. We'll still be carrying on with the Spider club, we've got a meeting next week so we're going to continue as normal, even if things are a bit sparse.

"I have to give a massive thank you to all the volunteers who showed up including the Friends of Denso Marston and the Bradford Beck group."

To donate to the reserve's refurbishment efforts, click here.