 | | A19 under water |
People living along parts of the River Rye have been worst hit by the floods. The rain washed away roads, caused landslips and damaged houses. Peter Gibb was taking part in a motorbike rally in the area, he was staying on a campsite with friends when someone rang there with the warning about the floods. | "there was a four foot wall of water just chasing me the whole way" | | Peter Gibb |
"So we jumped on our bikes and rode down the side as quick as we could. But there was a four foot wall of water just chasing me the whole way down the side. "I was just able to pull it [the bike] up onto a path and water just swept past pulling cars and all sorts... portaloos, caravans, livestock and sheep... you name it." Local residents did what they could to protect their property. David Walkland from Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe said he and his son had a battle to cope with the floods.
 | | Roadside in Thirsk area |
"We were securing two cars and had suspended them between trees just to stop them getting washed away into the main stream. "Paul had a close call when he was caught in a sudden surge which caused the pick-up to swing round. He was hanging on for dear life, it was horrendous." In Helmsley two helicopters had to winch people to safety, some were clinging to the roofs of cars to escape the rising waters. Ann Hudsbith was on holiday in the area, her rented cottage was badly damaged by the floods. "We overlook the river, and it didn't look too bad, then all of a sudden it started to rise. We saw trees, canisters and all sorts floating down the river. It was very fast.
 | | An unlikely toilet stop in Thirsk |
"Bearing in mind Boscastle with the devastation, we felt a bit vulnerable and packed the cases, but it rose so quickly we just got out and left everything." A farmer in the village, Bryan Thompson saw his house flooded. The waters also swept through fields where his sheep were grazing. He's found a few of them, but fears many will have died. "We've lost a lot of sheep. Basically the river came up and washed them away. Nothing more to it. "We've lost about 250 - 300, we don't know the final count yet because, obviously, we haven't been able to check them all." The flood waters receded almost as quickly as they appeared and the clean-up operation is underway. A spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers says the cost of repairing the damage could run to tens of millions of pounds.
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