THOUSANDS of pounds worth of damage was caused to property and roads in Scarborough after severe rain caused freak flash-flooding in the town.

According to North Yorkshire Police, no-one was injured in the floods, which followed heavy downpours in the area.

An estimated four inches of rain fell in two hours which caused the freak flooding and damage to property and roads.

The Esplanade and Seamer Road areas were the worst-hit, with residential properties and hotels being inundated with water.

Robert Woodcock, of the Adene Hotel in The Esplanade, said: "The drains just could not cope.

"The hotel cellar was badly flooded - it happened so quickly."

Damage was caused to tarmac on various roads in the town and manhole covers were also lifted due to the volume of water.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service received 116 calls from owners of residential and commercial properties and pumps were sent out from Scarborough, Sherburn, Snainton, Kirbymoorside and Malton to deal with the flooding.

Hundreds of sandbags were also used to prevent further serious damage.

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Teams worked through the night to pump away the water.

"There were no rescues, but we received a huge volume of calls for general assistance and to pump away water, and it was not until midnight that the rains eased."

Today, the main sea front area was said to be closed and the fish market had to be moved because of flooding on the West Pier. A spokesman for PA Weather said: "Torrential rain and thunderstorms were reported across the UK yesterday which were slow moving and consequently lasting a long time in each spot. It looks set to continue in the same way today off the North East coast with winds also picking up to around 25 knots - what can be termed strong - blasting off the North Sea."

Updated: 11:30 Wednesday, August 08, 2001