Villages still at risk of floods

Some roads remain closed because of flooding

People in south Derbyshire are being asked to stay alert as flood warnings remain in place in the county.

The rivers Derwent, Dove, Trent and Erewash could burst their banks and the villages of Scropton, Foston and Egginton are still at risk of flooding.

Some roads were closed, including the A6 Derby Road at Milford between Hopping Hill and King Street.

Ambaston Lane in Elvaston and Station Approach in Derby were closed, with the Eastgate Underpass down to one lane.

'Surreal' experience

A clean-up operation was under way in the north of the county after towns and villages were hit hard by flooding.

The landlady of the Talbot pub in Belper, Yvonne Ball, said she could not believe what had happened.

"It's surreal really as it is so quiet today but yesterday we were in chaos with about five feet of water in the cellar."

Thousands of homes were without power on Tuesday and trains were suspended after heavy rain battered parts of Derbyshire and east Staffordshire.

Ambergate was hard hit by flooding after the River Derwent overflowed and forced businesses to shut.

So many roads were closed because of flooding that the county council ran out of warning signs, a spokeswoman said.

Ambergate was hard hit by flooding from the River Derwent

Liz Partington, emergency planning manager from Derbyshire County Council, said services had been stretched.

"Chesterfield and the eastern side of the county were quite badly hit. The River Rother burst its banks and we had to open a rest centre at Brookfield School in Chesterfield," she said.

"About 140 people passed through and 60 stayed overnight. People were working really hard on the ground, getting sandbags, that sort of thing, and at points services were stretched."

The council said that in high-risk areas sandbags are available free of charge once a flood alert has been issued by the Environment Agency.