Clean-up after rain floods homes

Debbie Holt spent the morning cleaning up her property

People living in parts of Stockport and Cheshire have been mopping up after homes and businesses were flooded during heavy overnight rain.

Residents of Bridge Lane in Bramhall woke up to find their back gardens flooded and water sitting at car windscreen height in the street.

The Environment Agency issued a flood watch for the area at 0230 BST.

However, some residents claim they were not given enough warning, or help to deal with the flooding.

Resident Debbie Holt said on Saturday morning: "I would have thought that someone would have turned up with sandbags.

Unfortunately while we can do our best for emergency planning we've obviously got to improve it even further Councillor Maureen Walsh

"Or if they had said, 'Come on, be prepared and all work together as Stockport people, get the sandbags together so there's no problems' and then sorted the road out.

"Nobody turned out, so from six o'clock we've had to wade through all this water and have been cleaning up."

Sandbags were being distributed in the area on Saturday morning.

Bramhall councillor Maureen Walsh said: "Well I think it's absolutely dreadful.

"Unfortunately while we can do our best for emergency planning we've obviously got to improve it even further.

"The flash flooding here has been a historical fact and I think we've got to now find ways of solving this problem because we can't let it happen again."

Flood watches

In Cheshire, a flood watch was issued for the River Bollin catchment area, including Knutsford, Wilmslow, Macclesfield and Bollington.

The agency also issued flood watches - which means flooding of low lying land and roads is expected - across Greater Manchester.

River catchment areas were deemed to be at risk in Hyde, Ashton-under-Lyne, Denton, Stalybridge, Fallowfield, Burnage, Withington, Didsbury, Flixton and Wigan.