Homes flooded and events cancelled after downpour

10:27am Monday 7th July 2008

A MASSIVE downpour left parts of York submerged at the weekend.

Firefighters were called to seven houses which suffered sudden flooding in Saturday’s storm.

Homes in Carr Lane, Boroughbridge Road, Poppleton Road and Braeside Gardens, as well as the nearby pub, The Ainsty, were all affected.

Stephen Greenwood reported that the rain came down so quickly in the Sowerby Road area it was 2ins above kerb height within five minutes.

Dave Hyde, landlord of The Ainsty, told how the pub’s cellar flooded with about 2ft of water at about 4.30pm on Saturday.

He said: “The drains had filled up so much that it backed up into the cellar.

“We tried calling the fire brigade but they were really busy so we had to get a private company to come and drain the water out of it.

“There were boxes of crisps and empty barrels floating about.

“Our coolers kept tripping out because of the electricity. “It only lasted about five minutes or so, but it just absolutely hammered down. It was coming into the cellar so fast it was as though someone was holding a hosepipe to it. It was just gushing in.”

He said it was the second time it had happened during his 12 months at the pub.

A North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service spokesman said: “We had a very busy afternoon caused by the storm which passed over York.

“It set a number of automatic fire alarms off. We attended four in York and one in Selby due to the storm. We also attended a number of flooding incidents caused by a large volume of water backing the sewers up and into people’s properties.”

The Acomb fire engine was sent to four houses in Carr Lane, the Huntington crew went to a house in Poppleton Road and another in Braeside Gardens, and a York fire engine went to Boroughbridge Road.

He said: “The houses were below the level of the road and we believe that was what caused the problem.”

A “football and fun” day, sponsored by the First bus company, in aid of our Guardian Angels appeal, had to be abandoned due to the rain yesterday. Organisers hope the event, at the Acorn rugby club in Dringhouses, can be re-scheduled for September 14.

Haxby carnival had to be abandoned on Saturday. A spokesman said: “It was with regret that following the heavy rain and the worsening forecast the organising committee decided to abandon this year’s carnival. We would like to thank everyone who worked so hard to get everything set up and ready on the day”

He said it was not possible to arrange an alternative date this year.

Further bad weather is forecast for the next four days, with more heavy downpours expected today and tomorrow.