Storm Bella brings gales of up to 70mph TODAY after people evacuated from homes on Christmas Day

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Widespread flooding wreaked havoc in parts of England on Christmas Day, forcing residents to evacuate their homes ahead of further bad weather expected with the arrival of Storm Bella later tonight. 

The storm will bring severe gales and heavy rain, with winds expected at speeds of up to 70mph.  

The flooding yesterday saw the River Great Ouse burst its banks in Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. 

More than 1,300 residents living near the river were urged to leave their homes by police as flood water continued to rise, engulfing roads and fields and parts of the town of Bedford.  

One woman described how she had only an hour to move her father’s belongings before floodwater from the river started ‘coming through the walls’.

Meanwhile Clare Devany, 38, husband James Hodgson, 43, and their daughters, aged four and five, spent Christmas Day moving furniture to the top floor of their house in Bedford, before leaving to spend the night in a hotel in nearby Peterborough.

Ms Devany said: ‘You don’t realise how much stuff you have in a house until you have to move it. We put all the furniture on to kitchen chairs and raised the sofa by two feet.

‘You walk around and you just have to work out what to sacrifice. For us, that was things like the TV, because it was mounted and we didn’t have time to take it down, the living room cabinets. It’s furniture, it’s not the end of the world.

‘We moved paperwork, photos, all of the kid’s memorabilia, their toys – everything came upstairs. The only thing we didn’t touch because we didn’t have time was the kitchen.’

She said the day was a festive ‘write off’ after the family were visited by police at 10.30pm on Christmas Eve and advised to leave.

‘They said Covid is a non-issue,’ said Ms Devany. ‘At that point, we started to get really concerned. Because they said, go anywhere – you can go to Tier 2 if you need to.

‘With the way things have been going, it was a bit of an eye-opener, because it has been all-consuming the last few weeks, going from Tier 2 to 3 to 4. With total lockdown and being so careful, and them turning up at the door and saying ‘that doesn’t matter now, get out’.

‘It was at that point we knew we really needed to get out. We put the turkey in the oven and had turkey sandwiches at the hotel last night, but it really has been a panic.’

After spending Friday night at the hotel, the family returned home when flood waters receded by a few inches.

One of their daughters is non-verbal autistic and struggled with the sudden move.

Ms Devany said: ‘She’s not a big one for change, it really upset her, so if we can stay tonight, we are going to try. We will sleep in shifts and if it looks like it will breach the road at all, we will head back to the hotel.

‘It’s pretty bad out there and all of the fields are within half a foot of breaching back on to the road. We have literally come within a hair’s breadth of it.

‘We have been lucky – we are dry, we are safe, we have the heating on. There have been so many people out there who haven’t been as lucky.’ 

Dramatic photos taken today showed the devastation wreaked by the flood water, while videos showed the moment people had to leave their homes.  

Further rain is expected in Bedfordshire on Sunday and Monday and the area is one of three under a severe flood warning, meaning a danger to life, along with the Cogenhoe Mill caravan site and Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park, both on the River Nene in Northamptonshire. 

The Met Office added that between 0.6-1inches (15-25mm) of rain is likely to fall in Wales and south-west England, and up to 1.6-2.4inches (40-60mm) over some hills later today and tomorrow as Storm Bella arrives. 

An amber wind warning, which warns travel could be disrupted, has been issued for parts of south Wales and across southern England today.

Meanwhile, a yellow warning of wind for the whole of England and Wales as well as the far south of Scotland has also been issued and will be in force from 3pm on Boxing Day. 

Bella follows relatively calm and cold conditions across the UK on Friday, which saw early morning snowfall recorded in some areas.

People have been warned that flying debris could cause injury or be a risk to life, and buildings could be damaged in the storm.

Large parts of Northern Ireland are facing a yellow warning of rain and wind from lunchtime on Boxing Day through to the evening, with conditions potentially disrupting travel.

Homes in Cirencester, Gloucestershire were also at risk of flooding due to heavy rain and council officials have been providing sandbags for those affected.

Councillor Joe Harris, leader of Cotswold District Council, said: ‘We know that a number of our residents have had their Christmas ruined and we are doing all we can to support them.

‘We are working with Cirencester Town Council which is providing local support and we are liaising with parish councils in Siddington and South Cerney which are also experiencing rising river levels and may have residents whose homes are under threat of flooding.

‘We are replenishing sandbag supplies for communities at risk where the town and parish councils have already exhausted their supplies.’

Firefighters and Thames Water have been pumping water away but with further heavy rain forecast, problems may worsen before river levels drop.

Councillor Andrew Doherty, cabinet member for environment, waste and recycling, added: ‘I’d like to thank staff who worked through Christmas Day and Boxing Day deploying sandbags to protect residents’ homes.

‘Whilst we cannot provide sandbags to individual homes on request, we are working with our flood engineer and the fire service to consider where problems are likely to be greatest and providing strategic protection to residential areas with the sandbags reserves that we have.’  

Meanwhile, a yellow warning of wind for the whole of England and Wales as well as the far south of Scotland has also been issued and will be in force from 3pm on Boxing Day.

In addition to the strong winds, the Met Office said a period of heavy rain will affect western and southern areas on Boxing Day. 

A yellow warning for rain has been issued for parts of Scotland, Wales and much of north and south west England on Saturday, including areas where there has already been flooding from recent downpours.

In Ireland, Met Eireann issued a country-wide status yellow wind and rain warning, in force until 4am on Sunday. 

As of 5am, England had 78 flood warnings and 99 flood alerts, two flood warnings and five flood alerts are in force in Wales, and seven warnings and 13 alerts have been issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

Bedfordshire Police on Friday ‘strongly urged’ residents living near the River Great Ouse to seek alternative accommodation as high levels of floodwater passed through Kempston and Bedford.

Nine people and three dogs had to be rescued from a flood-hit property in Harrold, Bedfordshire. 

Emergency centres were set up at the Bedfordshire Athletic stadium and Bromham Village Hall.

Debbie Radford, whose father lives in the village of Odell, near the river, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday how she had to help him move many of his possessions from the ground floor to a higher level late on Christmas Eve.  

‘At about 11 O’clock he rang me and said he was in trouble. So I jumped in the car, it was just a couple of miles away and we had literally an hour to move everything off the floor so that we could save washing machines, tumble driers, fridges, carpets, furniture,’ she said. 

‘Literally an hour later, the water started coming in through the walls. Last night it was sitting at 1ft deep throughout the whole ground floor.

‘The water has risen 15ft. It is 12ft from the river level to the top of the garden, to the bank. 

‘The last time it flooded was 22 years ago and from all the records in Odell it has never, ever been this bad. It just came up, the water was coming up through the drains yesterday.’

Clare Devany, 38, husband James Hodgson, 43, and their daughters, aged four and five, spent Christmas Day moving furniture to the top floor of their house in Bedford, before leaving to spend the night in a hotel in nearby Peterborough.

Ms Devany told the PA news agency: ‘You don’t realise how much stuff you have in a house until you have to move it.

‘We put all the furniture on to kitchen chairs and raised the sofa by two feet.

‘You walk around and you just have to work out what to sacrifice. For us, that was things like the TV, because it was mounted and we didn’t have time to take it down, the living room cabinets. It’s furniture, it’s not the end of the world.

‘We moved paperwork, photos, all of the kid’s memorabilia, their toys – everything came upstairs. The only thing we didn’t touch because we didn’t have time was the kitchen.’

She said the day was a festive ‘write off’ after the family were visited by police at 10.30pm on Christmas Eve and advised to leave.

‘They said Covid is a non-issue,’ said Ms Devany.

‘At that point, we started to get really concerned. Because they said, go anywhere – you can go to Tier 2 if you need to.

‘With the way things have been going, it was a bit of an eye-opener, because it has been all-consuming the last few weeks, going from Tier 2 to 3 to 4. With total lockdown and being so careful, and them turning up at the door and saying ‘that doesn’t matter now, get out’.

‘It was at that point we knew we really needed to get out.

‘We put the turkey in the oven and had turkey sandwiches at the hotel last night, but it really has been a panic.’

After spending Friday night at the hotel, the family returned home when flood waters receded by a few inches.

One of their daughters is non-verbal autistic and struggled with the sudden move.

Ms Devany said: ‘She’s not a big one for change, it really upset her, so if we can stay tonight, we are going to try. We will sleep in shifts and if it looks like it will breach the road at all, we will head back to the hotel.

‘It’s pretty bad out there and all of the fields are within half a foot of breaching back on to the road. We have literally come within a hair’s breadth of it.

‘We have been lucky – we are dry, we are safe, we have the heating on. There have been so many people out there who haven’t been as lucky.’

A spokesperson for Bedfordshire Police said on Christmas Day: ‘Residents living near the River Great Ouse in north Bedfordshire are strongly urged to leave their homes and seek alternative accommodation due to the risk of flooding.

‘People should seek alternative accommodation. This overrides the current Covid-19 regulations.’ 

Superintendent Steve Ashdown, who is leading the response, said officers had visited just over 1,300 homes in the area the previous evening.

‘A number of serious flood warnings are now in place across the north of the country where we are expecting flooding, including some for serious flooding which has the potential to endanger life. 

‘We contacted 1,309 properties along the river last night and suggested they evacuate, and we would strongly reiterate this advice again based on latest information.’

He added: ‘River levels are extremely high and we are expecting this to have a significant impact across Bedford Borough over the next 24 hours. 

‘The fact this is happening on Christmas Day makes the situation even worse, especially after the disruption so many of us have had to our plans already, and I really do sympathise with people.

‘But this is a really serious situation and we need people to take action in order to keep themselves safe.’  

Bedford Mayor Dave Hodgson said: ‘The Environment Agency is expecting this to be the highest level of flooding seen in Bedford borough in a number of years and, working with partners, we are strongly encouraging people who are at risk of flooding and have been contacted to leave if they can do so safely.’

Writing on Twitter today, he said: ‘We have had confirmation that the flood waters peaked in central Bedford around 2.00am and are now receding.

‘High water is currently at Cardington and still has to go through Great Barford which the Environment Agency are estimating will take place around 2.15pm today.’

On its website this morning, the Environment Agency said: ‘Heavy rain has fallen across the River Great Ouse catchment over the past few days.

‘River levels at Bedford remain high and steady. Further rain is expected over 27-28 December 2020.

‘We expect flooding to affect Riverside Close, Ford End Road, Cauldwell Walk, Commercial Road, Horne Lane, River Street, Palgrave Road, Cauldwell Street, Cardington Road, Kingsway, Nicholls Road, Goodmayes Close, Tennyson Road, Chapel Close, Bury Walk and Goldington Road in Bedford. 

‘Flooding is likely to cause significant disruption to the community and it is possible that electricity services will be affected.’

Across England, a total of 70 flood warnings and 95 flood alerts, as well as the three severe flood warnings, remained in force at shortly before midday on Boxing Day as huge amounts of water flowed through river catchments.

Northamptonshire Police urged people to stay away from the Billing Aquadrome holiday park, after hundreds were evacuated on Christmas Eve due to high water levels on the River Nene.

The force said water levels had reached 5ft in some places, with emergency services using boats to take residents in the worst-hit areas to safety.

Most of those evacuated were able to find overnight accommodation with friends and family, with a special exemption from Covid-19 restrictions, while about 100 people were transferred to a hotel.

Detective Superintendent Jamie Piscopo said: ‘Emergency services are working hard to ensure residents can return to the site as soon as possible, however it is not currently safe to do so.

‘We’d urge them to stay away until such time it is safe to do.’ 

Bedfordshire Police tweeted that people should seek alternative housing – which overrides the current Covid-19 regulations.     

Covid-safe emergency assistance centres have been set up by the council at the Bedford International Athletic Stadium and Bromham Village Hall for people who have been evacuated from their homes and have nowhere else to go.   

Because of the flood threat, residents ordered to evacuate by officials ‘are permitted to go to other people’s homes, despite the Tier Four Covid-19 regulations currently in place,’ the council said.

It added that people should only take what is needed, such as medication, and people should turn off gas, water and electricity and move any valuables upstairs.  

Families last night grabbed unopened presents as flooding forced them to evacuate their homes on the night before Christmas  – with Storm Bella set to bring two inches of rain and 70mph gales on Boxing Day.  

Hundreds were evacuated from their homes and vehicles following a period of heavy rain on Christmas Eve, with severe flood warnings issued for the River Nene in Northamptonshire indicating a risk to life.

Across England, a total of 111 flood warnings and 137 flood alerts, as well as the two severe flood warnings, remained in force at 5am on Christmas Day as huge amounts of water flowed through river catchments.

Northamptonshire Police said the emergency services were working through the night to evacuate more than 1,000 people from the Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park in Northampton. 

The force said the heavy rain had caused flooding with water up to 5ft deep in places. 

There were also evacuations in Norfolk and Suffolk as families prepared for Christmas Day last night, with a major incident declared by emergency services. 

Water levels on the River Waveney in Bungay are still being monitored today as some Britons returned home to dry out their sodden carpets and furniture.

In Cambridgeshire, floodwater was knee-deep in Peterborough after it overwhelmed the banks of the River Nene, with Britons seen wading through murky water to check on their boats and property on Christmas Day.

The River Severn and Avon also burst their banks in Tewkesbury, with dramatic aerial images showing homes and  dangerously close to the floodwater on Christmas morning.  

The heavy rain is set to continue later today, with up to two inches of rain expected to fall in high areas following a largely clear and dry conditions, the Met Office said. 

‘Recent wet weather and saturated ground makes this area more sensitive than usual to further heavy rainfall, especially across parts of southern Wales,’ it was added. 

Alex Burkill, a meteorologist at the Met Office, earlier said: ‘Christmas Eve night into Christmas Day is going to be very cold, with harsh widespread frost first thing Christmas morning.

‘So it could be a White Christmas in as much as lots of people are going to wake up to a frost.’

Light flurries of snow were seen on Christmas Eve, including on the North East coast.

He continued: ‘They’ll be very light, scattered, not everywhere will see them by any means, and for most areas it’s going to be a pretty dry day, just cold, but there is a chance we could see a few showers of snow across eastern parts of England, particularly early on Christmas Day.’

However, the focus for many will be on the rain that has already fallen after the wet conditions brought flooding including in the Midlands. 

Northamptonshire Search and Rescue were involved in the evacuations at Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park, which included a new mother and a young baby. 

Emergency accommodation was sourced for the residents, some of whom showed signs of hypothermia, at hotels and at least two leisure centres.

Police Chief Superintendent Mick Stamper said it was an ‘exceptionally challenging situation’ and asked residents to leave the site if they could, adding they would be exempt from Covid-19 travel restrictions.

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service declared a major incident at the holiday park on Christmas Eve, with five crews and four specialist water teams searching 1,100 caravans.

The force previously responded to 250 incidents following heavy rain, deploying crews to pump out properties and stranded vehicles. 

Eight flood warnings are in place in Norfolk, with firefighters from Dereham called to Cranworth, near Watton, to reports of a house that had been flooded by the heavy rain early on Christmas Day.

Another crew from London were called to flooding outside a home on Ditchingham Dam near Bungay at 7.45am, with further reports of a multiple-vehicle crash on Thickthorn roundabout just outside Norwich.     

A police spokesperson said the force had received higher than normal calls over the past 24 hours since Christmas Eve because of flooding. They added officers were supporting the fire service. 

The Met Office said conditions across the UK will turn increasingly unsettled through to December 27, with strong winds and heavy rain moving in from the north.

An amber national severe weather warning has been issued for parts of south Wales and across southern England, with gusts expected to reach up to 70mph in exposed coastal locations.

A yellow warning for wind for the whole of England and Wales as well as the far south of Scotland has also been issued and will be in force from 3pm on Boxing Day.