Horses moved amid flooding fears

Rain and flooding has blocked roads in parts of Lincolnshire

Almost 300 horses at a Lincolnshire rescue centre were moved amid fears their fields may flood.

Peter Hunt, from the Bransby Home of Rest for Horses, said it was "a race against time" to keep the animals safe.

The county's emergency planning team said people were also being moved from their homes in Bransby, near Saxilby, after a pump failed at the River Till.

Residents are being sent to Lincoln College, joining 20 others who spent the night on the site.

Horses to water

"We have 280 horses here and are seeing what we can do," said Mr Hunt.

"Part of our land is used for flood alleviation and is already flooded.

"One of our problems is that some of the horses have an infectious disease and the animals have been separated so it doesn't spread, but where do we move them to? We are very concerned."

County councillor Peter Heath said residents in Bransby would be keeping a close eye on the flooding. A block of flats was evacuated on Tuesday when the River Witham overflowed its banks in Lincoln.

Fire crews moved people by dinghy from 120 flats at Shuttleworth House.

Emergency workers were busy across Lincoilnshire (Picture by Michael Wilkinson)

Ian Reed, from Lincolnshire's emergency planning team, said there had been no choice but to evacuate.

"There are problems with power at Shuttleworth House, so it has been necessary to evacuate it for safety reasons, and we have put people up at Lincoln College.

"We've been in touch with the engineers who are working on it but we're looking at 12-18 hours, so we made overnight provision for residents."

About 400 homes were also evacuated on Monday night - most of them in Louth. Horncastle was also badly affected.

Dozens of roads in the north of the county had to close and drivers were warned to take care.

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On Monday night there were five severe flood warnings in place in the Louth, Horncastle and Langworth areas, as well as the Humber tributaries.

Several inches of standing water were reported on some roads in Grantham, Lincoln, Louth and Horncastle.

A spokesman for Lincolnshire Police said the Highways Agency had run out of "road closed" signs. He urged both motorists and pedestrians to be extra careful.