North clears up after floods

River levels peaked on Saturday after three days of rain

People in parts of North and West Yorkshire are clearing up after torrential rain caused severe flooding.

The Environment Agency says the threat of further problems has receded and the number of flood warnings has fallen to 17.

Hundreds abandoned their homes as August downpours swelled rivers and streams.

Although the weather in northern England became drier on Saturday, water levels still rose earlier in the day.

Click here to see map of the region

Forecasters say the heavy rain will move to the south east of the country during the weekend as the North becomes drier.

An Environment Agency spokeswoman told BBC News Online: "The situation is stabilising at the moment and it looks like the threat is starting to reduce."

She said the rivers still high were the Derwent, Aire, Ouse and Ure.

And villages causing concern include Old Malton, Norton and Stamford Bridge.

York streets became stream

Police said the flood risk to York had been downgraded, as river levels on the Ouse started to subside.

Householders and business owners are trying to clear up the mess after properties were flooded.

Some areas have recorded twice as much rain in the last two days than would normally be expected for the whole of August.

In Yorkshire, 50 people at a caravan park near Scarborough had to be rescued by coastguards and the firefighters on Friday.

Rescue

In Boroughbridge, near York, temporary pumps saved the town centre from flooding after a pumping station broke down.

On the North Yorkshire coast, lifeboats were used to rescue holidaymakers at the Scalby Close caravan park.

The Pickering area, between Scarborough and Thirsk, was also been badly hit by the torrential downpours, with Ryedale District Council issuing more than 1,000 sandbags in the town.

Weekend events have been disrupted

People staying at a caravan park in the area were evacuated to spend the night at a village hall.

Other parts of the UK were also affected.

Roads in Cleveland were hit and police issued a weather warning to motorists after closing some roads due to intense downpours.

In Grangetown some streets were under three feet of water on Friday.

In Glasgow's east end where 500 homes were hit, some residents may need re-housing.

One North Yorkshire weather station at RAF Leeming recorded its highest one-day rainfall total on Thursday night since it began recording in 1971.

Click here to return to story