A FLOOD alert has been issued today for the River Ouse in York after heavy rain in the Yorkshire Dales catchment over the weekend.

The Environment Agency said flooding of roads, riverside footpaths and farmland was expected today and tomorrow, and the Foss Barrier was put in place this afternoon to protect properties alongside the River Foss.

The river at the Viking recorder in York was 2.47 metres above normal summer levels at 9pm this evening, with flooding of some riverside footpaths and Queens Staith.

The agency said the river was expected to peak at between 3 and 3.2 metres above normal summer levels tomorrow but this was subject to change.

"Our incident response staff are closely monitoring the forecast," it said.

"Please avoid using low lying footpaths near local watercourses and plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded."

York Rescue Boat tweeted that the vast majority of York will remain open throughout,adding: "Businesses within York are just begining their journey to recovery after the Covid lockdown, please support them. York is definitely ’Open for business.' "

The agency had earlier issued flood alerts for low lying land and roads near the Upper River Wharfe, Lower River Swale and Lower River Ure, with high levels in the Ure posing a risk of flooding at the Roecliffe Caravan Park.