Roads and bridges still closed after floods

A team of divers has been deployed by North Yorkshire County Council to carry out structural surveys to three bridges on important routes in Tadcaster, Boroughbridge and Skipton-on-Swale.

Bridges at Tadcaster and Boroughbridge have re-opened, but the council said yesterday the waters were still too fast-flowing at Skipton-on-Swale to carry out the checks and it had not yet been able to safely re-open the crossing. A council spokeswoman said its diving team was ready to perform the checks as soon as conditions allowed. Yesterday 26 bridges and roads remained closed in the Thirsk, Richmond, Boroughbridge and Selby areas.

Water levels are falling but a number of flood warnings remained in place yesterday at locations including the River Ouse at Cawood, St George’s Field in York and for riverside properties in York.

As many as 300 properties have been affected across the region by flooding and the rising waters from rivers including the Swale, Ure and Nidd as well as the Wharfe, Ouse, Derwent, Aire and Dearne after the most intense September storm in the UK for 30 years.

York was the worst hit part of the region, and 50 of the city’s properties were flooded by the rising levels of the River Ouse with a further 30 premises affected by surface water and over-spilling sewers.