HEAVY rain caused havoc around York and North Yorkshire, with up to two inches falling in 24 hours.

It meant two of the major events in this weekend’s York 800 celebrations – today’s River Ouse flotilla and tomorrow’s Dragon Boat races – had to be postponed, along with a number of other events.

Sally Burns, the council’s director of communities and neighbourhoods, said the cancellations were due to forecasts of further prolonged heavy rain and high river levels, and the flotilla event would be rescheduled for August 25.

Many boat owners who travelled to York to take part in the flotilla were moored at the Foss Basin as the waters rose, and one boat owner who did not wish to be named said: “These are all people who have travelled in for the flotilla and can’t go anywhere else.”

She said the council was trying to pump water out of the basin and close the flood barrier.

Thousands of motorists struggled on the county’s roads, with localised flooding making the A166 at Stamford Bridge barely passable, and causing delays at the A19/A64 junction near the designer outlet.

Firefighters were called to minor flooding at properties in East Yorkshire, and flooding was reported in Snainton and Cloughton, near Scarborough, and to the gardens of some homes in Barlow, near Selby.

Despite the changes to today’s events, the Kate Stainsby memorial paddle will take place on the Ouse as planned, but other events around the region had to be rescheduled due to the weather, including the performance by Ebor Vox, which was initially due to take place at Kings Staith today, but was moved to Dean’s Park, behind York Minster, due to the high river levels.

Tomorrow’s Sledmere Charity car boot has been cancelled, and the Thorpe Willoughby Carnival was also called off. The planned opening of Thirsk’s £157,000 skatepark has been postponed until 1pm on July 21. York Cat Protection’s open day has also been cancelled.

David Gaygan, organiser of Thorpe Willoughby Carnival, said: “Our car park is under about two feet of water. It’s really bad. It’s regrettable, but after all the hard work and organisation, Mother Nature wins.”

Yorkshire Water said it carried out a “massive operation” to help people hit by flooding, and expected up to 50mm of rain in some parts of the county.

The Met Office has predicted largely dry days today and tomorrow, but with more rain on both afternoons. the Environment Agency has issued flood warnings for the River Ouse, with low-lying land in York and Selby expected to be affected.

Couple living in fear of flooding

A COUPLE who were forced out of their York home for eight months after flooding five years ago fear the recent heavy rain could see them relive their nightmare.

In 2007, Andrew and Sarah Bielby, of Ivy Cottage in Wetherby Road, Rufforth, were forced to move into a bed-and-breakfast when their home was flooded.

They finally moved back a few weeks before Christmas that year, after tens of thousands of pounds of damage had been repaired.

The ordeal was a double blow for the Bielbys, whose home had also been hit by flooding a few years before, when sewage came into their downstairs shower. Now the couple fear fresh woe following yesterday’s downpour, which saw a month’s worth of rain in a day.

With the rain expected to continue over the weekend, Mrs Bielby, who has MS, says she and her husband couldn’t cope if they were flooded again.

Speaking to The Press, Mrs Bielby said she felt “frightened” in her home.

“Where we live it is like a saucer and we are at the bottom of that saucer,” she said.

“Looking out of the window, it looks like I am looking on to the River Ouse and as more and more water gets pushed into the road in front of our home I fear that water is going to start coming in.”

Mrs Bielby said council officials had told her and her neighbours in their cul-de-sac that they were hoping to provide residents with flooding signs and sandbags, but that they couldn’t promise to deliver.

“I can appreciate the financial pressures everyone is under but this is our home,” Mrs Bielby said.

“We have lived through this once before. We cannot face it again.”