Knaresborough family forced to leave home after flash flooding

A family in a North Yorkshire town have been forced to move into emergency accommodation after their home was damaged by flash flooding.

Mark Robinson, from Knaresborough, said his family had lost their wedding photos and expensive electrical items due to the water damage in their home.

Parts of Yorkshire were affected by sudden heavy downpours of rain which hit on Bank Holiday Monday.

Mr Robinson said: "We had a foot of water in our house within 15 minutes."

Speaking to BBC Radio York, he said the flooding appeared to come out of nowhere following a thunder and lightning storm on Monday evening.

Mr Robinson said: "My youngest son was supposed to be playing a cricket match, but because of the thunder and lightning, they called the match off.

"We set off back home and it was raining so heavily that we just sat in the car for five to 10 minutes, to stop ourselves getting wet."

He said when he got out the car, flooding caused by surface water was up to his ankles.

"Then within 10, 15 minutes it was about a foot deep and it just went straight through the house."

Speaking about the damage to the house, he said it had ruined everything downstairs.

"The sofa, television, PlayStation, two laptops, wedding photos which were stored in a box."

The former firefighter said he had "never seen anything like that" in the 10 years he had lived in his home with his wife and two sons.

"On Monday night, me and my wife slept on my sister's sofas, while my two boys were at their grandparents' houses, so we were all split up," he said.

"North Yorkshire Council have now got us into emergency accommodation for last night and tonight together, and luckily the accommodation we've had has been really good.

"I think we will be out for a minimum of a month, as everything needs to be dried out and the flooring will need to be ripped up."

Elsewhere in Yorkshire, the rain stopped traffic in Bradford, and at Horsforth Station in Leeds, a rail platform became a waterfall as the tracks were flooded.

Robert Ling, who is co-ordinating North Yorkshire Council's response to the flooding, said 50 households were affected by this week's flash flooding.

He added three of these households needed to be rehoused due to the damage caused, while other households had either moved in with family or were able to go back to their own homes.

Mr Ling said the council had set up a Chain Lane Community Hub in Knaresborough for people needing support to drop in over the next few days.

"Our emergency response team has been working tirelessly with local volunteers and the town council to help people who have been affected by the flooding in Knaresborough," he added.

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