Communities in the north of England have been hit by flooding after Storm Antoni dumped a month’s worth of rain in a single day.
The UK faced five Met Office warnings across the country on Saturday for heavy downpours, 70mph winds and thunderstorms as the unseasonable weather front hit.
In less than 24 hours, 65mm (2.5ins) of rain fell leaving roads, vehicles and homes all deep in flood water.
Local resident Paul Jones-King said he is feeling ‘angry and really frustrated’ after flooding hit his town in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire has been particularly badly affected, with reports of flooding in areas including Scarborough, Whitby, Newholm and Robin Hoods Bay.
Have you been badly affected by flooding? If so email maanya.sachdeva@independent.co.uk
In the town of Loftus, south east of Middlesbrough, residents were hit by flooding for the second time in three years and some were evacuated.
Paul Jones-King, 47, who has lived there for 18 years, said he is “angry” and “really frustrated” after his home was flooded on Saturday due to the town’s drainage system – which he said is “not able to cope” with heavy rainfall.
Mr Jones-King claimed the response from authorities had been “poor”.
Loftus is among the many towns hit by flooding on Saturday— (PA)
A month’s rain fell in less than 24 hours despite it being the height of summer— (PA)
“I just want to cry to be honest with you,” Mr Jones-King said. “I’m a nurse, I finished a night shift this morning, was sat having a cup of coffee before I was due to go to bed, and literally within 10 minutes your house is flooding.”
He criticised both the Environment Agency and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council over the incident.
He added: “It’s a real poor response from Redcar and Cleveland Council. There’s no support, they’ve dumped some bags, and that’s it, they’ve gone.
“Delivering sandbags seven hours after an event is just a complete waste of time for everybody.”
A number of Environment Agency flood alerts are still in place— (Environment Agency)
A spokesman for the Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said: “The council responded immediately when called out to the need for help and a crew was deployed to the scene by early morning. Further crews were mobilised throughout the morning as the scale of the flooding became apparent.
“The crews were at the scene all day to work with the emergency services to keep people safe. This work included making roads safe to use, clearing gulleys to allow the water to run away and providing help to residents to protect their homes. The work to repair damage caused will continue in the coming days.”
Workers from Dublin Fire Brigade and Dublin City Council drain an area in Clontarf, Dublin that was hit by flooding— (PA)
Residents in Ireland were also affected by the heavy downpours on Saturday. Homeowners expressed disbelief after more than a dozen homes in north Dublin were hit by flash flooding.
Eight people were evacuated from their homes using inflatable rescue sleds and one person was taken to hospital, Dublin Fire Brigade said, after several 999 calls were received on Saturday.
An underground car park at a block of flats on the same road as the houses was also flooded, where about 15 cars were thought to be parked underneath.
Water appeared to still be up to the ceiling of the basement later on Saturday, as Dublin Fire Brigade and Dublin City Council continued to pump the water out.
