Work begins in Yorkshire Dales to clear flood damage – but more rainfall is on the way, forecasters warn

Park rangers and volunteers gathered at Reeth on Thursday to make a head start clearing collapsed dry stone walls from the recent storms.

Stonework from the structures had been left strewn across fields and the rangers were joined by volunteers on days off to remove the stones and clear the land.

Roger Foreman, a ranger for the Yorkshire Dales National Park, said the sheer force of the floods from the overflowing River Swale had knocked the wall into the fields, with the ruins needing to be rebuilt by hand.

Mr Foreman said this had already happened twice and was becoming a more frequent occurrence.

He said: "The surfacing of the new trail called the Swale Trail, which runs from Grinton all the way to Keld, has been damaged, so we're thinking of something a bit more permanent.

"If this is going to be a regular feature we need something a bit more resistant to flooding like flags or something."

"We're lucky we've got the volunteers really, because the volunteers do 90 per cent of the work in the Dales so we're beholden to these guys coming out on their days off to help us clear what there is to be cleared."

Six severe weather warnings, meaning immediate risk to life, were in place as of 12.45pm today across the country, while the Environment Agency has warned of yet more rainfall and risk of flooding in parts of Yorkshire and the Pennines over the weekend.

Caroline Douglass, Director of Incident Management at the Environment Agency, said:“Flooding has a long lasting and devastating impact on people’s lives, and our thoughts remain with all those who have been flooded.

“Further spells of rain in northern England from Friday and into the weekend may lead to further significant river flooding, particularly across the Pennines, while ongoing river flooding remains probable for the lower Severn for the remainder of the week.

“This is the third weekend we have seen exceptional river levels and stormy weather, and with the effects of climate change, we need to prepare for more frequent periods of extreme weather like this. People need to be aware of their flood risk, sign up to flood warnings, make a flood plan and not to drive or walk through flood water.”