County 'recovering' from flooding

Hundreds of residents have been moved from their homes

South Yorkshire is "on the road to recovery" after this week's devastating floods, says one of the police chiefs co-ordinating the emergency response.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Whyman of South Yorkshire Police said: "This is going to be a very long road... but we've taken the first steps."

He said the county's infrastructure had suffered "significant damage" and urged people to cut electricity and car use.

However, the reopening of the M1 meant they could now "get back to business".

The motorway was closed on Tuesday between junctions 32 and 36 amid fears the dam wall at Ulley reservoir near Rotherham would burst.

About 600 people living in villages downstream fom the reservoir were forced to leave their homes and have spent the last three nights in emergency shelters.

The initial concerns about heavy rain are significantly reduced now Assistant Chief Constable Mark Wyman

Engineers and firefighters from across the country have been pumping millions of litres of water out of the reservoir to ease pressure on the damaged dam wall.

Speaking at South Yorkshire Police's multi-agency control centre in Sheffield, Mr Whyman said: "We've managed to restore the dam to a position of stability where the risk is much reduced.

"And we're happy we've got a contingency plan just in the odd event that something went wrong, and we can keep people safe.

"There's some things people can do to help us though. One of those things is please conserve the use of power.

"The electricity companies and the Grid have worked very, very hard to restore power successfully to most people.

"But we can all limit our use of electricity. We can do good things like car-sharing to reduce the burden of cars on the road."

Homes evacuated

He said he was keeping a close eye on the predicted high rainfall forecast at the weekend but added there would be no repeat of the scenes witnessed earlier this week.

"The initial concerns about heavy rain are significantly reduced now," he said.

He added: "I'm not a weather man, I'm a police officer, but I'm told by the experts we are not going to see the scenes that we saw on Monday."

However, council leaders in the area were still warning that up to 2in (50mm) of rain was forecast to fall on Saturday and Sunday.

More than 350 people were taken to emergency shelters in Doncaster overnight after the River Don burst its banks, inundating homes in the north of Doncaster, including Bentley, Toll Bar and Arksey.

A car auction site was deluged by water, picture by Steven Rhodes

Emergency co-ordinators said all householders in the town who needed to leave had now been moved from their homes.

On Wednesday night, a search in the area for a man who was feared to have fallen into a swollen dyke was called off as firefighters in boats continued to ferry families from their sodden homes.

Concern was also mounting over water levels at a power plant close by.

The area is dominated by the looming cooling towers of Thorpe Marsh power station.

It has been disused for many years but some of the substations around it are still active.

'Protect properties'

A Doncaster Council spokesman said: "All areas affected by the floods have now been evacuated and we are working alongside police, fire and rescue, the Primary Care Trust and other partner agencies to get people in the rest centres back home as quickly and safely as possible.

"For the time being we recommend people remain at the rest centres while the flooding situation is being reviewed.

"The police would like to reassure everyone in the rest centres and their families that there are extra patrols in the areas most affected to help boost security and protect their properties."

Local reports said water levels in the Ea Beck were falling gradually. The River Don's level remains high but stable.

On Wednesday, 126 tonnes of sandbags were airlifted by RAF Chinook helicopters to support the river's flood defences.

A council spokeswoman said: "Overall the weather should be drier over the next 24 hours.

"Heavier rain, up to 50mm (2in), is predicted from Saturday mid-morning and throughout Sunday, which may add to the present ground saturation."

Sandbags stockpiled

On Thursday morning, the River Torne in the Auckley area of Doncaster breached its banks but officials said only farmland has been affected.

In Barnsley, more than 130 streets were affected by flooding and the council is distributing thousands of extra sandbags in preparation for more rain at the weekend.

Meanwhile council officers are carrying out home assessments, electricity and gas safety checks and sample testing at flooded properties where sewage contamination has been reported.

Along with the clear-up in Sheffield, engineers were inspecting structures across the city to catalogue the destruction.

One bridge in the Owlerton area collapsed during the flooding on Monday and surveyors said there was a serious collapse of walls between Meadowhall Road and the River Don.

But managers said they were stockpiling more sandbags, on top of the 5,000 already issued, due to the threat of further rain.

Contractors were still pumping out water from 150 homes in the hard-hit Winn Gardens estate, in the north of the city.