Whirkirk is one of the worst affected areas for people replacing lawns with paved driveways.

Over the past 30 years, the proportion of paved drives and other similar surfaces in the area has increased by 13 per cent.

The worrying scenario is outlined in a report just published in the Journal of Landscape and Urban Planning.

Authors Dr Rizwan Nawaz and Thomas Perry, who carried out the research while at Leeds University, have warned the situation could become even worse.

"During floods, a good deal more rainfall which would have soaked away into gardens is now forced to run off into the drainage system, as much as doubling the depth of water during extreme rainfall events," said Dr Nawaz.

"One of the main issues is that at present you don't need planning permission to pave over a front garden. There has been some proposed legislation, but the Government really needs to crack down on this problem."

Low garden maintenance, increasing car usage and fear of vehicle crime and vandalism have all played a part. Grassy areas had also been replaced by rain-reisitant surfaces around new buildings and at shop car parks.

The changes have crept up over three decades, but if all the small paved areas were put together they would have caught the attention of city planners, said the report.

Unless the issue was tackled, the floods could return and effect more parts of the country, said Dr Nawaz, who now works in the Leeds office of environmental consultants Faber Maunsell.

"Last summer's flooding in England caused damage estimated at around three billion pounds," he said. "In all, 11 people died and some 7,000 homes in Hull and 1,200 in Sheffield were damaged."

A council spokesman said: "The outcome of this research project – which was suggested to the university some years ago by the council – supports our opinion of the negative impact that hard paving in residential areas has on drainage.

"It is recognised nationally that the hard paving of areas – including people's gardens – is a contributory factor in the causes of flooding.

"As a result, the Government has announced that permitted development rights which allow households to pave over their gardens without planning permission will only be applicable if porous materials such as permeable paving or gravel are used – a decision which we welcome and believe will have a positive impact over time.

"We are currently carrying out a city-wide audit of green space across Leeds – which will include all sports and open space sites – to measure how much green space there is in the city.

"As part of the council's core strategy, we are also looking into including policy which will mean that only porous materials are used in any large scale hard standings, such as car parks and event spaces, to help to improve future drainage."