Sandbags at the ready as Whitby prepares to tackle flooding threat

With more heavy rain overnight, Scarborough Council have made sandbags available to residents of Whitby and the surrounding villages as a precautionary measure.

The roads between Whitby and Sandsend and Whitby to Ruswarp remained closed yesterday and many other roads are affected by standing water as the town begins to assess the extent of the damage caused by heavy rainfall.

Council experts spent yesterday afternoon investigating the effect of the flooding on the east cliff, which has a long history of slippage in bad weather,

Scarborough Borough Council spokesman Paul Thompson said: “From 7pm last night (Monday) until 2am (Tuesday) morning we were involved in the multi-agency response to flash flooding in Whitby.

“We worked with our North Yorkshire County Council colleagues to clear drains and distribute sandbags throughout the town. We also shared information from North Yorkshire Police Control Room about unpassable roads in the area via social media.”

He said they remain on standby, monitoring the situation on the ground and keeping an eye on the weather forecast.

He said: “Anyone wanting to request sandbags as a precautionary measure should call our Customer First team on 01723 232323. We will then deliver sandbags out to them.”

Motorists in North Yorkshire have being urged to drive with care because of the prevalence of standing water on roads in the region.

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said motorists should take extra care when driving through the floodwater.

“It only takes 30 centimetres of flowing water to float your car and our advice is that motorists should think twice before they drive on affected roads,” she said.

The volume of rain caught most people by surprise and no flood warning had been issued: the Environment Agency’s warning service only applies to rivers and waterways and the River Esk has not been badly affected.

The flooding in Whitby follows a terrible Christmas period for many people across Yorkshire as flood waters left many homes and businesses in ruin.

York, Leeds and Hebden Bridge were among the worst hit, leading to calls from the region’s leaders for more financial assistance from the Government.