Hundreds forced to leave homes as floods batter region

Hundreds of people have been forced to leave their homes after heavy rain and floods battered large parts of north-west England, leaving cars abandoned and cancelling trains.

Greater Manchester Police declared a major incident after torrential downpours across Stockport, Bolton, Didsbury, Harpurhey, Stalybridge and Wigan - with large parts of Lancashire and Cheshire also hit on New Year's Day.

Flats at Meadow Mill in Stockport were evacuated with about 400 residents being moved to a council refuge centre at Holdsworth Mill in nearby Reddish.

The Britannia Country House hotel in Didsbury, Manchester, understood to be housing asylum seekers, was also evacuated with 500 guests moved out, with the use of boats.

In an early evening update, Ch Supt Colette Rose said: "We are continuing to monitor the whole of Greater Manchester as we look to co-ordinate the emergency response involving a variety of services.

"Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service have been key to this to ensure we can keep those people and communities safe after the severe weather we have had.

"Thankfully, due to the efforts of all involved so far no one has been seriously injured or come to harm and would like to thank members of the public for their continued co-operation."

Ch Supt Rose added that with the weather and water levels easing, Bolton, Harpurhey and Stalybridge were no longer areas of concern.

Earlier in Cheshire, an aqueduct at the the Bridgewater Canal collapsed with water pouring into surrounding fields at Little Bollington.

Cheshire Police said they were working to evacuate nearby properties, while the M56 westbound between junctions 6 and 7 were closed.

In Lancashire, Ormskirk Civic Hall said it was opening for any residents affected.

"The kettle is on and everyone is very welcome," a post on Facebook said.

By 14:30 GMT water levels were seen to be falling but amber and yellow weather warnings remained in place across the region.

Hannah Beau, was among the residents at Meadow Mill in Stockport, who were earlier left stranded inside with no running water or electricity.

The flats began to flood in the early hours, with almost all vehicles in the car park outside almost totally submerged.

Ms Beau said firefighters brought fresh water for her and her boyfriend before being told to wait to be evacuated.

Ms Beau said she was trying to stay positive but did feel "distressed".

"Everyone is healthy, no-one is in any immediate danger so we have to try and look at the positives here," she said.

"But it is really unfortunate and not how I wanted to start the new year."

Another resident of the block, Helen Scott, said returned from a night out in Manchester at 03:00 GMT to find the car-park partially flooded and had to "wade through calf-deep water" to get home.

When she woke later that morning, the waters had risen further, she said.

In Lymm, Cheshire, resident Gabrielle Dainty said the local flood defences "haven't worked" after her cottage filled with water for the second time in four years.

"There's nothing you can do, there's just nothing you can do," she said.

In Ribchester near Blackburn, Lancashire, landlord Sam Hubbard managed to save the Ribchester Arms pub from flooding - but her own home was hit.

Ms Hubbard said a brook at the rear of her home burst its banks and flood water damaged flooring and carpet.

She said the community were pulling together to get people out of their homes and try and put flood defences in place.

"You've just got to do the community thing and make sure you stop it where you can really," she said.

The Met Office had issued an amber warning for rain across swathes of Lancashire and Greater Manchester, while a yellow warning covered parts of Merseyside and Cheshire.

Dozens of flood alerts are also in place, with the River Mersey reaching its highest recorded levels at a measuring station in Northenden, Greater Manchester, at 3.71m (12ft).

In Ormskirk, West Lancashire, homes were reportedly flooded around Halsall Lane and surrounding streets.

Some residents posted pictures on social media showing flood water in their kitchens and gardens.

In Warrington, three people were rescued from a car by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service on Cliff Lane, and in Booth Lane, Lymm, another three people were rescued in the early hours.

The service used a rescue raft to get to the vehicles in both cases.

Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig said the authority was working with the police, fire service and Environment Agency to monitor water levels and provide support to residents.

She said: "Some residents have been asked to evacuate where the Environment Agency has issued flood warnings, and these residents have been contacted directly and supported.

"Thankfully we are seeing signs that water levels are beginning to fall, and it is unlikely that further evacuations will be necessary.

"However, water levels will continue to be monitored over the coming hours."

Flooding on the line between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport train stations has also led to major disruption and cancellations.

Trains were not operating between Manchester Airport and the city's stations, or on routes between Manchester and Liverpool Lime Street, or from both Liverpool and Manchester to Huddersfield, Leeds and York.

TransPennine Express urged customers on its services not to travel before at least 12:00, saying flooding was causing "significant issues" in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.

Flooding also caused severe disruption across the road network, with the M57 closed in both directions between junction 6 at Kirkby and junction 7 at Aintree, according to National Highways.

It said the westbound M56 between junction 6 for Manchester Airport and junction 7 for Bowdon was also expected to be closed "for some time" due to flooding across all three lanes.

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