Community pulls together after floods hit homes

Homes in Devon have been flooded after torrential downpours across the region.

Harberton resident Jan Carne is one of the people pulling together to help out neighbours impacted by the floods.

Ms Carne said she had been helping out 95-year-old neighbour Betty Baldwin, who was still upstairs in her home due to flooding and mud on the ground floor.

There has been widespread flooding across the county in places such as Dawlish, Torquay, and Exeter.

A Met Office thunderstorm warning remains in place across the region until 18:00 BST, with part of Devon covered by an amber thunderstorm warning until 16:00.

Local resident Jonathan Bean came to Ms Baldwin's rescue at about 02:50.

He said he had to climb into the house through the kitchen window because the water was over two-feet deep at the time.

Local resident Eva Snape's home has also been severely damaged in the floods.

Ms Snape said she heard a crash in the middle of the night and when she went downstairs to investigate, saw her house had been flooded.

She said the fire service had to knock the door down to gain entry because of the flooding, adding her home had been "utterly destroyed" and she and her family would have to move out for "a while".

As well as houses being flooded, a house in Totnes was struck by lightning in the early hours of Sunday, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said.

Crews from Buckfastleigh and Ashburton fire stations were deployed to the house at about 01:44.

The fire service said the occupant had left the property and was with neighbours when crews arrived and had sustained minor injuries from a ceiling falling down.

In a post on social media, Buckfastleigh Fire Station said: "It was evident a large surge had gone through the house and plug sockets had blown off of the wall, light switches where effected and a lamp was shattered."

The yellow weather warning, which covers south and parts of mid Wales and south-west England, covers several major cities including Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol and Plymouth.

The Met Office warned of a "small chance" lives could be put at risk.

Homes and businesses could also be in danger of flooding quickly in "torrential downpours", the Met Office said, with up to 2.8in (70mm) possible in some locations.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said it was experiencing a high number of calls due to flooding across Devon and Somerset.

It said it needed to keep emergency lines open for genuine emergencies and asked people to only contact them if there was a risk to life.

A number of locations around Devon were flooded on Sunday, including Dartmouth, Torquay, and Exeter and surrounding areas, and Dawlish.

A flood alert was issued by the Environment Agency - for the the Middle Exe area. They said flooding was possible for the Middle River Exe from Exebridge to Tiverton and the Rivers Haddeo, Batherm and Lowman.

Meanwhile, in Dawlish, a flood warning was issued, with people urged to take action to protect themselves and their properties.

The Met Office said an additional 25mm-50mm of rain was expected to fall in the area affected by the amber weather warning, on top of the 30mm-60mm that had already fallen.

In areas under the warning, damage to homes and businesses is "likely" and could happen quickly while floodwater poses a danger to life.

Buildings could also be damaged by lightning, hail or strong winds.

Power cuts are likely to occur and other services to homes and businesses may well be lost.

Difficult driving conditions and some road closures are to be expected while train and bus cancellations are also likely.

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