North Yorkshire: Lifeboats replace cars on flooded roads

Members of the Army and rescue teams help evacuate people from flooded properties after they became trapped by rising floodwater when the River Ouse bursts its banks in York city centre. (John Giles/PA Wire)

On the ground, the flood waters have devastated hundreds of homes; from the air, the extent of the flooding was staggering.

Between Sherburn-in-Elmet and York, large areas of land were underwater for as far as the eye could see.

The banks of the River Wharfe, which runs through the centre of Tadcaster, and the River Ouse, which flows through York, could no longer be seen in many places, the water spilling over into surrounding fields.

In the village of Cawood, the road bridge that crosses the Ouse was completely submerged, leaving residents cut off.

And a flock of sheep in a nearby submerged field could be seen huddled together on the one small patch of dry land.

A caravan park outside the village was left underwater, with one family seeking refuge on the roof of their mobile home with as many of their belongings as they could salvage.

In Tadcaster, beer barrels were left floating in a newly formed lake in the yard of one of the town’s breweries, while a Sainsbury’s supermarket could barely be seen above the flooded car park.

Floodwater covers land between Thorpe Arch Estate and Newton Kyme after the River Wharfe burst its banks. Joe Giddens/PA Wire

Many roads in the area were closed, with cars driving as far as possible before turning round to try to find a different route.

In York, a city that is used to regular flooding on a lesser scale, lifeboats replaced cars on the many flooded roads as rescue teams patrolled the streets, helping to evacuate residents from their homes.

Many vehicles had been abandoned as the flood waters had risen.

Golf courses and football pitches were left waterlogged and large ponds had formed on York Racecourse, on the outskirts of the city.