Rugby team saves clubhouse from Storm Bert flood

A rugby union team joined forces with local people to save their clubhouse, after flooding triggered by Storm Bert threatened to cause significant damage.

Players from Littleborough RUFC returned from an away fixture on Saturday afternoon to discover Longden End brook had burst its banks near Hollingworth Lake - a reservoir built to feed the Rochdale Canal.

The car park was already under 2ft (60 cm) of water, but team spirit rallied and players and locals were able to secure the clubhouse building with sandbags and protect it from the surrounding water.

The flooding was caused by heavy rainfall during the storm, combined with snow-melt from moorland above the nearby M62 motorway.

David Kearns, director of Rugby at Littleborough Sports Club, described the community spirit as "brilliant" after an appeal on social media saw local volunteers descend on the club to help the players in their rescue effort.

"We had nearly 2ft of water in the car park - it pushed all of the gravel onto the pitch, which we had to remove on Sunday.

"We had a little bit of damage into our gymnasium, but luckily we saved it.

"It really showed a sense of community spirit within the club."

The Longden End brook, which flows under the M62 motorway and into Hollingworth Lake, burst its banks at a bridge close to Littleborough Sports Club

Seven Flood Alerts and 20 Flood Warnings across the Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and Cheshire regions were issued by the Environment Agency over the weekend.

Dave Goodwin, from the Environment Agency, said: "Our teams worked round the clock across Greater Manchester to monitor the situation, warn communities at risk, and carry out operational activity to reduce the risk of flooding".