NORTH Yorkshire was today on flood alert and bracing itself for more soggy misery as heavy rain swamped the region once again.

Sandbags were handed out in one village near York after a blocked pump caused its main street to become submerged, while other roads were also blocked and the weather meant headaches for travellers.

And the bad news is that it could get worse - with more downpours on the way throughout this week.

Twice as much rain has already drenched York this month compared to the whole of January last year, with local weather-watchers saying we could be on course for the wettest start to the year since 1962.

In Elvington, the B1228 was closed yesterday as an overflowing beck sent water pouring onto the road - just weeks after its new flood defences were unveiled.

Drivers were forced to look for alternative routes after a blockage at Elvington Pumping Station meant mobile pumps had to be called for, with sandbags being issued to homes near the flooding.

Between Shipton and Tollerton rising water levels covered Ella Bridge, while Brayton crossroads on the A19 near Selby also suffered at the hands of the floods.

Flood warnings are still in place on the River Ouse in the city centre and at Naburn Lock - where the B1222 was also flooded - as well as the River Derwent at Stamford Bridge and Buttercrambe Mill.

Meanwhile, severe flood warnings have been issued at Cod Beck in Thirsk and Ripon's River Skell.

Coun Andrew Waller, York's representative on the Environment Agency's Yorkshire Regional Flood Defence Committee, said the city can combat the weather, but action plans might need to be stepped up if the heavy rain continues.

"We are staying on alert because of the bad weather, and, while it would need to get significantly worse before we have a major problem and have to up the scale of our response, everybody needs to be prepared," he said.

"At the moment, we can cope, but if there was a long period of heavy rainfall rather than a single dramatic event, things could change and we would have to look at how we responded to that.

"It's obviously a worrying time. We only had a few events like this between 1982 and 2000, now we are getting four or five a year. It just reinforces my view that we need to be investing in local flood defences on the scale we are investing in the Olympic Games."

Tom Fitzpatrick, who owns Elvington Village Store - where water was lapping at the door - was stunned at how fast levels rose in the village.

He said: "There were no problems during the morning, but within a couple of hours the water had risen dramatically.

"When we got the new defences, we were told it was virtually certain we would not be flooded again. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to have been the case.

"It will cause people a lot of problems and we're just hoping for a break in the weather, but the forecast isn't good. We have deliveries due today and if this continues they won't be able to get through."

At flooded Ella Bridge, resident Gordon Eagle said: "If the water's only a few inches high, you can get through it, but when it's like this you wonder why the bridge was built so low and what it would have cost to lift it up three more feet."

In Brayton, vehicles travelling on the A19 struggled to pass the submerged crossroads, Coun Mark Crane said. "We hope we do not have the same problems as we saw last year and in 2000, and hopefully we will be better prepared and the defences will keep the area safe this time," he said. "We have sandbags ready and will use them if necessary."

Travellers facing headaches on road and rail RAIL passengers endured frustrating journeys as the rain continued yesterday.

Sodden conditions caused services to be suspended on many lines and replacement buses had to be put into action instead.

No trains could run between Leeds and both York and Harrogate yesterday afternoon, with a Network Rail spokeswoman saying: "We have engineers and teams of operations staff out monitoring water levels and will reopen services as soon as it is safe to do so.

"We apologise to passengers who are disrupted by these conditions and assure them services will resume as soon as possible."

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service were called to a string of incidents across the region, including flooded houses in Thirsk Road, in Easingwold, Main Street, in Linton-on-Ouse, and Forest Lane, in Alne, while the Wheatsheaf Inn, in Carperby, near Leyburn, was also invaded by water.

And North Yorkshire Police sent drivers a warning after revealing its Operation Helical 2 road safety crackdown saw 13 people prosecuted for speeding on wet routes in heavy rain last Thursday - while two people died and five people were injured on the roads the same day.

"The weather at the moment is highly unpredictable and it is no wonder unsuspecting drivers are caught out and crash," said Inspector Chris Charlton, the force's head of strategic roads policing.

"What we want to see is drivers considering how the changing weather can affect them and other road users, and alter their driving or riding style appropriately so they are not taken by surprise."

January could be wettest in 46 years YORK is heading for its soggiest January in 46 years.

That is according to weather experts at Askham Bryan College, in the city, who have monitored rainfall throughout the month.

By Sunday evening, 100.3mm of rain had deluged the area since New Year's Day - and yesterday's downpours have yet to be added to that damp tally.

That is twice as much as the 50.1mm that fell during the whole of last January, and 81.4mm more than at the start of 2006.

"The wettest January we've had on record - since 1962 - was 107mm in 1984, so we could be looking at a new record," said Mike Elliott, who keeps the college's weather records and said their wettest month overall since those archives began was August 2004, when 156mm of rain fell.

The Environment Agency says river levels in York are expected to be "very high" towards the end of this week after rain has worked its way downstream, with regional flood risk manager Mark Tinnion adding: "We have been monitoring the situation very closely and are starting to patrol areas at risk.

"Some flooding is likely to happen in the region, but at this stage it is not thought to be as widespread or significant as last summer's floods."

The Met Office yesterday had a severe weather warning in place for northern England and forecasts that, although today is expected to be drier, frost and ice could replace the rain before more wet weather arrives later in the week.