Heavy rain brings flood disruption across northern England

Heavy rain brought flooding to communities across the north of England on Sunday despite river levels stopping short of some predictions. Rivers burst their banks in Cumbria with flooding affecting roads, farmland and train services across the county.  Only a handful of homes are thought to have been affected despite initial fears up to 1,600 properties could be at risk. Reception centres were set up in the Cumbrian towns of Kendal and Egremont. Image caption Initially, about 1,600 properties in Egremont and Kendal were thought to be at risk of flooding  In addition to Cumbria, where the main A66 route was flooded at Threlkeld, some of the worst hit areas were in West and North Yorkshire.  The River Wharf burst its banks    Leeds. Northern Trains had to cancel a large number of services after lines were flooded in West Yorkshire, including in Hebden Bridge and Leeds. In Stockton-on-Tees, three people were taken to hospital for checks after a taxi overturned in what police described as "awful driving conditions".  

The A65 in the Settle area of North Yorkshire was also badly affected by localised floods and North Yorkshire Police attended reports of a fallen tree blocking a road in the Ingleton area. River levels in many parts of England appeared to be dropping, although 39 flood warnings remained in place overnight. The Environment Agency said it was particularly concerned about the town of Tadcaster, further down the River Wharf. Neil Davies, Environment Agency flood risk duty manager, said: "Further heavy, persistent rain is expected into Monday and river levels remain extremely high and are continuing to rise in places."