Lincolnshire over the worst of Storm Babet flooding, says fire chief

An "improving picture" was emerging in flood-hit Lincolnshire as waters receded, the county's chief fire officer has said.

Mark Baxter of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service said 170 homes and firms were flooded by Storm Babet, as more than a month's rain fell in 24 hours.

He said levels were now finally dropping.

Mr Baxter added: "It's a welcome relief we don't have any significant rainfall [forecast] in the next 24 hours."

Flooding occurred at locations across the county, including Lincoln, Horncastle, Tattershall, Woodhall Spa, Wainfleet and Kirkby on Bain.

Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Mr Baxter said: "It's an improving picture. Water levels are dropping, but we do recognise that we still have a lot of surface water."

In Wainfleet, dozens were advised to leave their homes on Saturday.

Mr Baxter said: "We did have quite a lot of focus on Wainfleet. We had some overtopping on one of the [river] banks that was creating quite a lot of flow into the Wainfleet area."

That overtopping had stopped and water levels had also dropped, said Mr Baxter.

He said fire crews, joined by the Environment Agency, were continuing to closely monitor the situation there.

Mr Baxter said: "The Environment Agency are doing some inspections today, and doing some remedial work such as sandbagging to make sure that we can protect the areas as much as we can."

Meanwhile, Richard Fenwick, head of highways at Lincolnshire County Council, said while his team was still in the "response phase" of the emergency, the situation looked brighter.

"We have issued about six jobs since midnight," he said. "That compares with 445 jobs over the last two days, so it is quietening down a bit from a highways point of view."

Mr Fenwick said at the last count up to 20 roads remained closed, although crews were out reopening routes as quickly as possible.

He said: "We had scouts out from Highways up until it got dark last night. They will be back out today to assess any roads that need to be reopened."

Mr Fenwick said there were "a few" roads, including one in Dunston, that needed to be closed again due to flooding.

He added: "As the water makes its way through water courses, we get problems in other areas that were not in the initial impact."

Mr Fenwick said the ground and dykes were "absolutely full", warning: "It's not going to take much to cause more localised issues."

In Horncastle, the water had gone, allowing residents and business owners to begin the task of clearing up.

Luke Donovan and his family had to move out of their home. He told BBC Look North of the moment water began seeping in.

"It just came on so quickly," he said. "Not so much through the front door. There were puddles coming in all around the table."

Amanda Eastwood and her family also had to move out.

She said: "The water was right across the road. It was quite bad here."

Ms Eastwood said the emotional impact of the floods "slowly hits you".

"It's like oh my god in that drawer there was such and in another drawer there was such," she said.

Across the UK, three people have died in the storm. The BBC is not aware of any flood-related casualties in Lincolnshire.

On Saturday, Ben Thornely, the Environment Agency's area flood risk manager, said "between a month and two months of rain" fell in 24 hours.

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