Five official flood notices are in place tonight in Greater Manchester
Sandbags were scrambled out to residents and flood defences activated as Storm Babet brought torrential rain, driving winds and danger to Greater Manchester. Three official flood 'warnings' were issued in Greater Manchester by the Environment Agency on Friday - urging residents in areas covered to 'act now' in the face of 'expected' flooding.
As of 8pm, they remain in place with water levels on the River Mersey said to be rising on Friday evening and being monitored on an hourly basis. As major incidents were declared in several counties and three people were killed across the UK, the warnings here tonight cover the Staley and Micklehurst brooks in Mossley, Tameside; the River Mersey at Fletcher Moss and Withington Golf Course and the River Mersey at Cheadle Wood and Ford Lane.READ MORE: Storm Babet LIVE updates as Met Office weather warnings come into effect for Greater Manchester In south Manchester, the warning was in force on land around Parrs Wood High School playing fields, Heaton Mersey Valley Golf Course and Burnage Rugby Club. Land around Withington Golf Club, Didsbury Golf Club and Fletcher Moss Gardens was also covered. The Environment Agency said of the south Manchester warnings: "River levels are rising on the River Mersey due to Storm Babet. "Flooding is forecast to affect locations near the River Mersey, with low lying land expected to be most affected, Our incident response staff are closing flood gates and checking defences. River levels are expected to peak at 7.6 metres later this evening, or early tomorrow morning. "Avoid using low lying footpaths and any bridges near local watercourses and do not attempt to walk or drive through flood water." Flood plains and defences are located in the areas. The Fletcher Moss Park flood basin, meanwhile, was expected to be brought into use later tonight, according to reports. Storm Babet, the second named storm of the season, arrived earlier this week, bringing strong winds and heavy, continual rain. A Met Office 'amber' warning for rain came into force at midday on Friday and is due to last until 6am on Saturday - covering Manchester and areas to the east of the city, including Tameside, Stockport, Oldham and Rochdale. Flood defences have also reportedly been deployed in Littleborough, Rochdale, along a stretch of the River Roch, as a flood 'alert' was issued along the upper River Irwell catchment area, covering Oldham, Bolton, Rochdale, Haslingden, Ramsbottom and Rawtenstall. Another flood alert was also in force along a section of the River Mersey from Irlam through Stretford, Sale and Gatley to Stockport. In Mossley, Tameside, where a flood warning remains in place tonight, staff from Tameside Council handed out sandbags to residents who piled them up across their front and back doors. Residents living on Micklehurst Road spoke of their fears after properties on the road were hit by severe flooding in 2017. The road flooded when the flow of the Micklehurst Brook culvert was disrupted. "I lost absolutely everything downstairs and days later, when I was trying to clean everything and I was covered head to toe in black silt, the Environmental Agency came out and said 'don't touch, it's toxic'," said one woman living on the road. "I would have a nervous breakdown if it happened again." Resident Nick Smith, referring to the 2017 flood, said: "The culvert collapsed last time and the debris got in and stopped it and it backed up. The water splits and goes underneath the houses but there's a wall and once it starts flowing over that wall it fills that pond which it's doing now because it's gone brown. "You know when it goes brown that debris is going down there and once it does it will hit the banks at the back of the gardens and because the houses are below the water line, it just comes in." Mr Smith said that during the 2017 flood he was left with no choice but to open his back and front doors and let the water from the reservoir flow through his house, taking everything with it. "I had to prop the doors open and just let it flow," he said. "It just went straight through. The water came up to just below my knee and it just flooded. It took everything with it." He said if the rain continued tonight there was a 'good chance' the road would flood again, but said Tameside Council and the Environment Agency rebuilt the culvert and put new grids in place following the damage six years ago. "It's awful," he said. "Every time it rains you worry. If you look at my top searches on Google it's all flood warnings." Trains were hit by delays and cancellations as lines were flooded. Northern reported no services between Hazel Grove and Buxton, and between Glossop and Hadfield, due to flooding on tracks. Avanti West Coast also issued a warning urging passengers not to travel north of Preston, or between Chester and North Wales, due to the conditions. Firefighters in Cheshire, meanwhile, said they had been called out to 'a number of incidents' where cars had become trapped in floodwaters, with rescues reported but thankfully no injuries. Elsewhere, a man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing flood water in the town of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire on Friday, West Mercia Police said, after two people died in Scotland. Passengers also had to be evacuated from a passenger plane from Corfu after it came off the runway at Leeds Bradford Airport as it attempted to land in windy conditions. There were no reports of any injuries, operator Tui said, but the runway was closed and several flights were diverted to Manchester Airport. West Midlands Fire Service has urged people not to drive through floodwater after a car was pushed 30 metres down a fast-flowing river in Northfield, Birmingham. The driver, a man believed to be in his early 40s, had attempted to pass through a ford at around 8.30am on Friday. His vehicle, however, was rapidly pushed downstream before getting stuck, forcing the man to climb to safety on the roof of his car, before using a tree branch to make his way to the embankment. From there, he was led to safety by fire crews an hour after the initial 999 calls. Police Scotland previously said a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday evening, killing the 56-year-old driver. A 57-year-old woman also died on Thursday after being swept into a river in the region. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service confirmed it had attended almost 70 weather-related incidents across Scotland including rescues from homes and flood waters. The SFRS said it had received around 750 emergency calls across Scotland and attended 300 incidents since Thursday. Across England, there were more than 200 flood warnings and 200 alerts on Friday evening. Flooding caused 70-minute delays on the A1 near Grantham, National Highways said, while further south, Suffolk declared a major incident on Friday as Storm Badet caused 'major flooding' across the county. In an update on its website, Suffolk County Council urged residents not to travel unless 'absolutely necessary'. Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service, meanwhile, said a major incident had been declared in the county due to the impact of Storm Babet. A statement added: "Most roads in Derbyshire are affected by flooding and many are closed. We are calling on our communities to follow the advice below to keep safe. "Do not travel unless essential from now until further information is available later in the weekend. Continue to watch for weather and flooding updates. Look out for vulnerable neighbours, especially if they have care services who may not be able to reach them."
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