UK weather: Homes evacuated and major incident declared after severe floods

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Homes were evacuated and stranded people rescued as heavy downpours caused severe flooding last night.

Poynton in Cheshire was amongst the worst hit places with the fire service declaring a major incident and rescuing 11 people.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) said firefighters, emergency services personnel and staff from Highways England were helping those affected, with a rest centre established at the local civic hall.

It followed a day of flood chaos across the country with bridges destroyed and roads turned into impassable rivers across the county.

In Poynton, police urged people not to ignore "road closed" signs by driving or walking through water.

Crews in Poynton rescued 11 people last night as floods hit the area


Poynton Brook in Poynton where a major incident was declared (Image: MEN Media)READ MORE

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Poynton Fire Station said its crews had been to more than 20 incidents, including rescuing at least 11 people from flood water in the area over a four-hour stretch.

Police in nearby Wilmslow also said its officers were "dealing with flooding" and had evacuated affected residents, with Oakenclough Children's Centre open as a rest centre.

The Environment Agency put out multiple flood warnings and alerts covering central, north-west and north-east England on Wednesday.

Princess Parkway in Manchester was hit by floods


Trains were cancelled after intense rain in Manchester

Soldiers from 2 Yorks laid sandbags for residents in the village of Grinton, where 3.2in of rain had fallen in just two hours.

The Yorkshire Dales, the Midlands and Lancashire were among the worst affected areas, but flood warnings were out for Cheshire, Derbyshire, Notts, Co Durham and Scotland last night.

In North Yorks, landlady Rowena Hutchinson, 75, said rain came in “like a waterfall”, at the Red Lion Inn in Langthwaite, Richmond, leaving her up to her chin in water.

Grinton in North Yorkshire where a road eroded (Image: Grinton North Yorkshire Police)


A soldier from 2 Yorks stacks sand bags in Grinton (Image: PA)READ MORE

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She said: “The water just rushed in from the back. It rushed through, and slammed the front door shut and then it rose up to about 5ft.

“I slipped and went under up to my chin, and then managed to grab hold of a bench and pull myself out, but the force of water and speed was just unbelievable.”

She managed to get upstairs and called for help from a window.

A fireman later carried her out on his back. The pub, in her family for 55 years, is unlikely to reopen until after Christmas.

Manchester was hit by widespread floods


Cars are trapped in flood water after downpours (Image: Getty Images)

Rowena said: “It’s completely smashed, doors off, and a wall has gone. The speed and force of the water was unbelievable.”

Major routes were turned “into rivers” and left impassable in what police described as “shocking” travel conditions.

It was the picturesque towns and villages of the Yorkshire Dales which were worst hit.

Steve Clough, of Swaledale Mountain Rescue, said: “The roads were a raging torrent and there were sheds and household oil tanks floating down them.

A number of homes were flooded across the region


Soldiers help local residents following flash flooding (Image: SWNS)READ MORE

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“Some homes had a metre of water in them – it was horrific.”

His team spent more than eight hours searching properties, rescuing about 10 people.

Firemen went to 100 flooded homes in the area. The fire station in Leyburn, North Yorks, even flooded while its crews answered emergencies. The Brymor Ice Cream parlour, near Masham, North Yorks, was caught in a freak hailstorm.

A spokesman said: “Our parlour suffered damage to the roof, power failures and some visitors suffered minor injuries.”

Gareth Walls, from nearby Ripon, tweeted that the hailstones had been “like pickled onions”.

The storms, which brought 18,000 lightning strikes in a day

The Ard Rock mountain biking festival, planned for Swaledale this weekend, has been cancelled after the rain left the site devastated.

Organiser Alex Rafferty, 32, said: “The rain just came down off the hills in waterfalls, it blew the riverbanks and has damaged a huge amount of infrastructure, local houses and local businesses.”

The storms, which brought 18,000 lightning strikes in a day, caused chaos, with parts of a railway line between Kirkby Stephen and Garsdale in Cumbria washed away. Train passengers faced delays after a landslip between Carlisle and Skipton.

Customers at Tenpin Bowling in Dudley, West Mids, were evacuated as flooding hit the Black Country.

Video footage showed rain gushing through the main entrance as youngsters watched in horror and staff told customers to keep away from electrical devices.

In Leyburn, North Yorks, Leonie Garrard, who runs a clothing and interiors shop, said torrential rain had left the town “cut off”.

Mark Worrall was stranded for two hours while driving to a holiday cottage in Romaldkirk in the Pennines. He said: “The roads were like rivers in many places, police were dashing everywhere.”

In Cleethorpes, Lincs, beach ride donkeys took shelter under the pier as rain battered the promenade.

More showers are due today but they are not expected to be as heavy, with no weather warnings in place.