ARMIES of volunteers have been flocking to the rescue of flood-stricken organisations in York - 'just like the cavalry arriving over the hills.'

Parents, cubs, scouts and scout leaders descended on the 1st Heworth Scout Group's hut in Bad Bargain Lane at the weekend to take part in a clean up operation, after it was flooded to a depth of about 25 centimetres on Boxing Day night when nearby Tang Hall beck burst its banks.

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Group Scouts Leader Neil Ballantyne is pictured with volunteers during the clean-up. Picture: David Harrison.

Group scout leader Neil Ballantyne said canvas tents, bedding, clothing, food and cooking equipment in the stores area were all soaked but an 'army of people' had come along to help clean up. "It's fantastic, everybody has volunteered, with parents and kids helping out here," he said.

He said the floodwaters might have been contaminated and so everything would have to be deep cleaned before they could be used.

The scout group has about 18 Beavers, 30 Cubs, 20 Scouts and 13 Explorers, and the building is also used by the Volsung Vikings, a re-enactment group, and by the Ebor Morris dancing group.

The 15th Century Red Tower alongside the City Walls near Foss Islands Road was flooded to a depth of five or six feet, said Barry Beckwith, one of the volunteers involved in a project to refurbish the building and turn it into a community kitchen, cafe and a space for activities.

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"You could not approach this place," said Mr Beckwith, pictured above. "When the water went down and we gained access, what we found was total devastation.

"All the equipment, all the seats and everything that had been put in place to open a pop-up cafe for community use had been completely ruined."

He said members of the grassroots network, The Incredible Movement (TIM), which is wanting to transform the building, had turned up to help clean it up. "But then, just like the cavalry arriving over the hills, three guys turned up to help us to remove all the old furniture," he said.

"One had come from London and two had come from Hertfordshire. Then a young man and a young lady came in a car full of cleaning equipment that had come from the Bell Farm Community Centre."

More than 50 people from St Michael Le Belfrey Church also came together to help clean the The Storehouse, a youth and children's work centre in Mansfield Street which is part of the church, said Lee Kirkby, head of youth and children's work and congregation leader.

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The Storehouse at the height of the floods

"There was such an amazing response and fantastic community spirit amid all the disappointment of being flooded," he said.

Meanwhile, City of York Council said collections of flood-damaged white goods including fridges and cookers have been arranged for affected areas for today and tomorrow. "Residents in these neighbourhoods are asked to put out items for collection where their bins are usually placed and they will be collected," said a spokeswoman.

"Over 50 skips are being sited in the affected areas for residents to use for waste disposal. Dehumidifiers are also being provided to those households most in need of them."