Updated: THE River Ouse rose well above its normal level to flood parts of York city centre following a day of high winds and heavy rain throughout the region.

The Environment Agency issued a flood warning for large stretches of the river on Wednesday evening, and the flood waters were expected to reach a peak last night at about 10pm.

In the village of Acaster Malbis, a driver found himself trapped in his BMW near the Ship Inn and had to be helped to safety by North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service.

In York city centre, where the rising waters flooded riverside paths, City of York Council said it had begun sandbagging vulnerable areas.

Jon Knight, from the Environment Agency’s Flood Warning Team, said he expected levels in York to reach a peak of 3.7 metres, or 12 ft, above normal last night.

Speaking yesterday afternoon, he said: “We are not expecting it to rise much more. The current level is 3.57 metres (11.5 ft) above normal level, reaching a maximum of 3.7 metres at 10pm. But it will remain that level throughout the night. It won’t go down quickly”.

Mr Knight said his team would also be keeping a close eye on heavy rains predicted for the North West last night to see if they stretched in to the area of the River Swale, which could swell rivers in North Yorkshire.

Yesterday, Selby remained largely untouched by the floods though a spokesman for the district council said they were keeping watch on the situation and all emergency procedures were in place.

Yesterday’s floods coincided with the expected publication of the Government’s Flood and Water Management Bill.

Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh said she hoped it would address the issue of maintenance in river flows and said that in the current economic climate people need to learn to do more with less and to do more between floods.

She said: “I want see greater emphasis on the importance of individual resilience and responsibility in the Bill. People need to realise the risk their homes may be in and what the potential for that risk could mean. I believe it is the Government’s responsibility to raise awareness of this risk and to ensure that people are adequately informed of ways to increase their properties’ resilience from flooding with products that are “fit for purpose.”