Clean-up starts after freak floods

A huge clean-up operation was under way today after freak thunderstorms hit parts of the country.

Dozens of villages in Yorkshire were cut off and roads washed away.

Rescue helicopters plucked people to safety from roofs of houses as up two inches of rain fell in six hours. Others were forced to abandon cars and climb trees to escape the rapidly rising water.

Search and rescue teams and an RAF helicopter spent much of last night scouring the area around the town of Helmsley, where nine campers were feared drowned after a river burst its banks. They were later found safe. Six motorists had to be cut free from cars after they were trapped in a landslide at Carleton.

In Helmsley, pub manager Simon Parker said: "There's dead livestock being swept away. It has all happened so quickly. We have Sea King helicopters flying around."

Scotland and Wales were also deluged and there were reports of hailstones the size of golf balls.