Clean-Up Underway After Floods Wreak Havoc

The clean-up has begun in parts of northern England after a month's worth of rain fell in 24 hours.

A number of flood warnings are still in place, with people in the South West of the country told to be vigilant.

Water deluged towns in Lancashire, Cumbria and West Yorkshire after a torrent of rain fell overnight on Friday, causing rivers to burst their banks.

More rain was expected to fall in Scotland and the north of England overnight on Saturday, but further significant flooding was not expected.

Around 11,000 homes and businesses are currently being protected by flood defences.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "There is a low risk of some localised flooding on Sunday across parts of South West England due to heavy rain, so we urge people to remain vigilant.

"Further showers are expected across northern England, however further significant flooding is not expected."

The Environment Agency also said it had mobilised teams across the North West to check and operate flood defences, clear any river blockages and closely monitor river levels.

It is estimated that 4in of rain fell on the North West region on Friday and Saturday, while unusually heavy rain fell on south-west Scotland, Northern Ireland and Lancashire.

The wettest places were all in Cumbria, Lancashire and West Yorkshire.

There was 4in of rainfall in Blencathra and more than 3in in Keswick, in Cumbria, and Stonyhurst in Lancashire.

At one point, the amount of emergency calls prompted West Yorkshire Fire Service to issued a message saying it could only respond to incidents in which life was in danger.

The River Yarrow burst its banks in Croston, Lancashire, flooding around 70 homes which had to be evacuated.

Jon Lilley, 32, landlord of the Wheatsheaf pub, said: "The water just kept coming closer and closer.

"We tried to wedge the doors as best we could but we lost the battle at about 2am and it came through the sandbags.

"I've lost my beer. My beer is floating. My plants have floated off down the road."

The Environment Agency had 86 flood alerts in place on Saturday evening, though none were classed as severe.

Sky News weather presenter Jo Wheeler said Sunday will be a day of sunny spells and scattered showers across the UK, most frequent the East, with the chance of a few thunderstorms.

Some patchy rain may fall in the far South West later in the day.