Following the people on Westdale

In the early morning light, the mill is now a spread of rubble

This is the story of Westdale Road in Pudsey, LS28.

We've been hearing your stories from one typical West Yorkshire street since 2008.

It is a road like thousands of others across West Yorkshire, Westdale Road is near the Stanningley bypass (A647) and the Owlcotes shopping centre.

A line of neat, small semi-detached houses stretch down the hill. A mix of mainly private with some local authority houses.

Why did we pick Westdale Road from the whole of West Yorkshire? Well Westdale Road picked itself. When a resident of the street got in touch with BBC Radio Leeds about the overgrown, and dirty state, of a ginnel, reporter Daragh Corcoran helped to get the cut-through cleaned up.

Louise, pictured on an earlier visit, updates Daragh

Our fourth visit to the street was in October 2009 back to Westdale Road in Pudsey to find out what's really going on.

Is the UK about to come out of recession? Are things on the up for the street's residents?

Daragh Corcoran of Radio Leeds reports on his latest visit:

"The first thing that strikes me is actually just around the corner from Westdale Road. Once a large red-brick mill used to stand on the corner of Victoria Road and Cemetery road which was home to a lively import/export business.

"All that remains now is an expanse of crushed brick and rubble. There's just time for me to take an early morning photo before I speak with Westdale's residents.

"For most people I spoke to, it's 'as you were', they're still shopping around for the cheapest groceries, hoping things will improve and, if they have a job, hoping to keep it.

"David Donovan the industrious postie we met last time has since gone to France!

Louise Colman is still going strong with her teaching assistant job in Horsforth. Louise told me about plans to afford the festive season and also about the short-lived employment her daughter had recently found.

" I also met Joanne Pennels again, she introduced Radio Leeds to the street in the first place, Joanne has got another three-year contract working in the canteen at Pudsey Grangefields Primary School.

"On the downside I met a man in his 40s who has just been laid off from Profab, a local metal works. However, he was quite optimistic about finding some other employment, although he wouldn't speak to me on microphone about his prospects.

"Following my conversation about his redundancy I went down to the workshop of Profab, his former company is based near the Cenotaph in Pudsey.

"I talked with Roland Taylor, the works manager, who explained how the company had to be flexible in its approach and also why it had to lose staff - even though it was hard to break the news of redundancies."