9:55am Tuesday 24th April 2012
FLASH flooding blocked roads and put properties at risk in a village near Selby last night, following torrential rain.
Fire chiefs said a beck was believed to have overflowed in Thorpe Willoughby, flooding roads and gardens.
A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said some properties had either been flooded, or come very close to being inundated.
He said about 15 firefighters had been sent to the scene to tackle the flooding after being called out at 5.36pm, and a high-volume pump had been sent to the village from Harrogate.
Eyewitnesses said Fir Tree Lane and Fir Tree Close had been made impassable to vehicles, and gardens and garages had been flooded, and suggested one man had been evacuated from his home as floodwaters came up to the doorstep.
Local resident Stephen Hurst said the area had been hit by torrential rain from lunchtime until about 6pm, causing huge puddles to flood the road to Thorpe Willoughby from Selby. He said a dyke had overflowed in the village, flooding Fir Tree Lane at both ends and also inundating gardens.
Eyewitness Eric Foster said gardens and garages had been flooded in both Fir Tree Lane and Fir Tree Close, and cars had been marooned, with floodwaters coming close to at least one property.
However, by 8pm, the floodwaters appeared to be receding.
Police had closed the roads to traffic because of fears that vehicles might create a “bow wave” but pedestrians were able to get through in wellington boots.
The fire service spokesman said the flooding problems had been localised, and firefighters had not been called out anywhere else.
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