Yorkshire flooding: Storm Babet brings misery to region

Flooding from Storm Babet is continuing to cause misery for people across Yorkshire.

On Saturday, the Environment Agency (EA) said 250 homes had been evacuated by the emergency services in Catcliffe near Rotherham.

An agency spokesperson said "a number of properties" had been flooded.

In North Yorkshire, six people - in two separate incidents - were rescued from cars stuck in flood water. The BBC was not aware of any reported casualties.

Flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, are in place across swathes of Yorkshire.

In Catcliffe, firefighters using inflatables were seen ferrying people from their homes to a community hall.

Pete Deveaux, chairman of the parish council, said the water was 6ft (1.8m) deep in places.

He said: "It's shocking. It's just a massive stress, and we're going to need a lot of help to sort it out."

Mr Deveaux, who opened the hall up for residents to seek refuge from the rising waters, said it was not yet safe for those whose homes were flooded to even salvage their belongings.

Earlier, one resident, who gave his name only as Steve, told Radio Sheffield: "We are hoping to be evacuated. All the cars on the road are floating. The water is halfway up the stairs."

Brad Jackson, who also lives in Catcliffe, said water levels rose quickly.

He said: "Yesterday [Friday], you could walk around town and it was fine."

An EA spokesperson said: "We have reports that a number of properties on Orgreave Road in Catcliffe have been flooded. Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this flooding.

"Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and the emergency services have evacuated up to 250 properties to ensure the safety of residents.

"We have a drone and an engineer on site to investigate our flood defences and we are working closely with our partners in South Yorkshire Local Resilience Forum to coordinate our response to this incident."

Teams across Yorkshire were "operating assets, closing flood gates and clearing screens", the spokesperson added.

Steven and Janet Banks own land in Rotherham which is leased to cat rescue charity Friends of Ferals. Together, the couple rescued five cats and five kitten when the premises flooded.

Mrs Banks said: "I'm 5ft 5in and the water was up to my waist."

City of Doncaster Council said it had delivered nearly 9,000 sandbags to areas most at risk. Twelve flood warnings remain in place there.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said crews rescued two men who were trapped in a car in rising flood water in Cattal near Knaresborough. Meanwhile, four women had to be rescued from their car in floodwater on the A684 at Morton on Swale near Northallerton.

In West Yorkshire, there were 28 flood warnings in place, with 14 of those in Leeds.

Transport has also be affected by Storm Babet.

Efforts continued throughout the night to recover a TUI passenger plane that skidded off a runway at Leeds Bradford Airport on Friday afternoon. All passengers were safely evacuated and the airport was closed before reopening at 11:30 BST on Saturday.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) customers were advised not to travel on Saturday.

In a statement, the company said: "Due to ongoing flooding of the route between Doncaster and Wakefield, speed restrictions in Scotland and trains and crews being out of position following yesterday's extensive disruption, an extremely limited service is in operation and services may be subject to short-notice cancellation.

"Customers are being advised to defer travel. Tickets will be valid for travel between Monday 23 October and Friday 27 October 2023 or fee-free refunds will be possible from the original point of purchase."

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