Cars underwater and families forced to flee homes after severe flooding across Bolton, Bury, Radcliffe and Stoneclough

Families were forced to flee their houses on Boxing Day as the River Irwell flooded streets and properties in Stoneclough.

Donations of food and blankets were brought to Holy Trinity Church, Prestolee, while the Grapes pub, Market Drive, has opened up rooms for affected people to stay the night.

A Bolton Council worker is at the pub taking details of people who need help and temporarily rehousing.

Christine Noone, church warden of Holy Trinity, said: “There’s quite a lot affected but a lot of the community has come out to help. Everyone’s pulled together.

“We opened at about 11am. “We had a couple straight away and then everyone started arriving throughout the day. We’ve been serving teas and coffees and sending out drinks constantly to everyone out there.

“People have been out sand bagging and there have been lots of donations by the people of the village.

“Asda sent a lot of stuff. One family has asked for toiletries.”

Rick and Jayne Gomez (pictured below) were forced to leave their home in Ringley Locks with 15-month-old daughter Mazi.

Mrs Gomez, still wearing her pyjamas after fleeing her home this morning, said: “We were looking on Facebook at everything that was going on in Riverside.

“Within an hour or so, water started appearing in our street and that’s when we realised we had to leave.

“I’ve never experienced anything like it, it was really frightening.”

In some houses, the water level rose up to the ceiling of the lounge and people were forced to swim to safety.

Karen Smith, aged 48, of Riverside Drive, evacuated her house with her three sons, aged 10, 12 and 14.

The house has been in her family since it was built about 34 years ago and she said she has never witnessed scenes like today’s.

She woke up to see the street flooding with water and has yet been unable to return to survey the damage.

She said: “I think it started at about 9am. I didn’t wake up until about 9.45am.

“We had to leave the house. It was on my drive as we were leaving.

“My neighbour across the road was being carried out of the house.

“One of them walked out and the water was up to her waist.

“There’s over 100 houses on the estate and more than half of them will have been affected.”

There were also reports of a gas explosion in Radcliffe, damaging a bridge near Asda, and the fire service are investigating the incident. 

Part two when the bridge went down. pic.twitter.com/9WDuBEP2a1

— Brightside Brewing (@BrightsideBrew) December 26, 2015

There are now concerns there will be further flooding as more rain is forecast for this evening.

Areas of Bolton, Bury, Rochdale and Salford remain worst affected areas of Greater Manchester.

Pictured below, flooding near Dumers Lane, Radcliffe

Assistant Chief Constable John O’Hare said: “We are continuing to work closely with our partner agencies to identify the greatest areas of risk and to provide the best possible response.

“All local authorities are providing updates on their websites and social media channels so please keep checking them to find out the latest information.

URGENT WARNING: Please stay away from rivers that have burst their banks. Water levels have not stopped rising and there is a real (1/2)

— G M Police (@gmpolice) December 26, 2015

danger of slipping in and not being able to get out. Stay inside and protect your property by elevating valuable + sentimental items (2/2)

— G M Police (@gmpolice) December 26, 2015

“Although the rain has slowed now, we are expecting further rainfall between 6pm and 11pm tonight.

“If you are in any areas that have been affected please take steps to protect your property by elevating valuable and sentimental items.

“I want to assure everybody that emergency services and local authorities are continuing to work tirelessly to help those affected by the floods.

“Please continue to look out for your friends, family and neighbours and remember to stay safe.”

On Saturday evening, the fire service was advising anyone living in the red section of the map below to prepare for flooding and leave their homes. 

There are currently 238 flood warnings in place - including the River Irwell at Prestolee and Ringley Bridges - meaning flooding is expected and immediate action is required.

Efforts from emergency services and local authorities will continue throughout the night. Please stay safe and try to remain indoors

— G M Police (@gmpolice) December 26, 2015

My thoughts are with people whose homes have been flooded. I'll chair a COBRA call tomorrow to ensure everything is being done to help.

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) December 26, 2015

Water from the River Roch flooded into properties and gardens in Bury New Road, Bury (pictured below).

Bury Council said staff have been working with the emergency services to help residents affected by the flooding.

The Castle Leisure Centre in Bury has been set up as a rest centre and rendezvous point for anyone needing help. 

Those who have been evacuated or are worried about potential disruption are advised to stay with friends/family if they can.

Ramsbottom (A58/motorway) bridge is closed and the bridge at Summerseat will be closed indefinitely following the collapse of the former Waterside pub. Access to Summerseat will be via Summerseat Lane as waters recede.

Bury Bridge is open and Radcliffe Road is passable but Dumers Lane is closed.

In Radcliffe, people are advised to stay away from the Pilkington Way area.

Flooding has been exacerbated by the gas mains fire near the Asda car park at the pedestrian bridge. Bridges to Stand Lane/Blackburn Street/Outwood Road will be closed overnight.

At 11.30pm on Saturday, Electricity North West said a total of 8,100 properties were without power across the region.

Some properties may be without power until Monday due to the severity of the flooding. In Radcliffe, a total of 500 properties have been restored but there are 1,000 without power.

In Bury, power has been restored to 1,600 properties but 700 remain without power after a second substation flooded this afternoon.

Engineers from Electricity North West are continuing work throughout the night to restore power to as many properties as possible.

The power network has warned that some properties may be without power until Monday following the severe flooding.

Flood defences at a number of electricity substations were breached earlier today and engineers are working round the clock to restore power.

Tim Groom, incident manager for Electricity North West, said: “We're doing everything we can to restore power by switching supplies to other substations and by using mobile generators.

"There are still a number of substations that are flooded and we can't yet access, but as soon as the water recedes then we have teams ready to go in and check the damage and make repairs.

"We're continuing to monitor key substations across the region and we're doing all we can to restore power to more properties throughout the night."

Electricity North is sending food vans to a number of locations tomorrow morning to provide hot food to customers without power.

Vans are currently scheduled to visit Radcliffe, Padiham and Rochdale. More information will be posted at www.electricitynorthwest.co.uk and on Twitter @ElectricityNW.

Click here for updates from the government's live flood warning website.

A Facebook group called Help for Bolton Floodings has been set up, click here for more.