Big clean-up following torrential rain in Ryedale (From Gazette & Herald)

Big clean-up following torrential rain in Ryedale

9:15am Tuesday 5th October 2010 in News By Karen Darley

Updated: FIRE crews rescued 13 people as torrential rain turned roads into fast-flowing rivers at the weekend.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue attended 31 call-outs on Sunday to deal with flooding incidents as more than half the average rainfall for October fell over a 12-hour period.

Kirkbymoorside, Danby, Sinnington, Hovingham, Nunnington and Rosedale Abbey were worst affected with residents describing ‘tidal waves of water’ leaving them trapped in their homes.

Among those rescued was golfer John Sugar who was stranded at Kirkbymoorside Golf Club.

“At around 4pm there was torrential rain so bad that you couldn’t see the golf course – it was unbelievable I’ve never seen water like it,” he said.

“The steward and myself made it back to the clubhouse but there was no way of getting our cars out.”

The pair were rescued by fire crews in a boat and taken to safety.

“It was an interesting way to leave the golf club and we went to the nearest pub to get warm and watch the Ryder Cup,” he added.

In Manor Vale, Kirkbymoorside, three people were rescued by members of the Swift Water Rescue Unit from Whitby after they became trapped by flood water.

They included an elderly man who was taken to hospital suffering from possible hypothermia.

Angela Dowson, who was one of those rescued, said the water had come so fast there was nothing anyone could do.

“The water level started to rise and suddenly there was several feet of water and it was like a tidal wave coming down Manor Vale,” she said.

“It was very alarming and the only way we could get out was by boat.”

In Danby five people, including a 10-year-old child and a puppy, were trapped in a minibus.

The bus had been caught in fast-flowing water in Lawns Road.

Fire crews said the group was ‘particularly lucky’ as the bus may have turned over had it not been wedged against a fence.

In Rosedale, the village green and the nearby stone bridge was left under two feet of water.

Christine Cullen of the White Horse Farm Inn said: “It was quite horrific.

“The hotel wasn’t flooded because we are so far up the hill but the road at the bottom of Chimney Bank was under deep water.”

One family had to be rescued by a farmer and his tractor and a number of holiday cottages were also flooded.

Christine added: “We started a big clean up on Monday morning to get the village back to normal.”

The water was knee high at Sinnington, which has suffered several floods in the past.

Helen Morse of the Fox and Hounds Inn said both roads into the village off the A170, were closed.

“We had a flood warning on Friday but there were no problems, then on Sunday afternoon we had another warning and the water did hit the village,” she added.

In Hovingham, quick-think residents averted a more serious situation by lifting drain covers in the heavy rain, enabling the flood water to escape.

“They did an excellent job,” said Vanessa Plowman, landlady of the Malt Shovel.

“The main street turned into a river and one holiday cottage was flooded, I understand.

“The rain was very intense and residents were slowing traffic down as vehicles came into Hovingham because of the depth of water.”

Ken Metcalfe, foreman of Nunnington Estate, said the village and estate had been badly affected by the heavy downpours.

“The roads were all flooded and there’s still a lot of silt on them,” he added.

“There was a landslide in Rectory Lane which closed the road and the kitchen, an office and a meeting room on the estate were all flooded and had to be closed.

“Every time it rains we get this flooding, but this time the amount of silt is tremendous. It must be about four inches thick in parts of the village.”

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said crews from across the county had attended 31 flood-related incidents on Sunday.

“I must emphasize people must treat water with the upmost of respect. It is unforgiving and even a small amount of water in a fast flowing current has a tremendous force,” he added.

“Never attempt to drive through floodwater if you are unsure of the depth. Water can rise in a matter of minutes a road that was passable may quickly be impassable which can often catch people out especially when making return journeys.”

The Gazette & Herald’s weather forecaster Paul Hignett said 66 per cent of the average rainfall for October had fallen in the first three days of the month.

“The problem was that we had the constant rain on Friday, a rest day on Saturday and then on Sunday it rained again all day,” he said.

“The ground was waterlogged from all Friday’s rain so when Sunday came the ground couldn’t soak it up.”