FLASH floods hit many parts of Bolton last night. One of the worst affected areas was Egerton and Belmont where roads were closed and motorists were stranded in several feet of water.

Over a 30-minute period, rain poured off the moors like waterfalls and ran through the village.

Residents along the main road used what they could to keep the rain from flowing into their homes.

The Cross Guns Inn pub was flooded and fire crews helped to drain away the water.

This morning, wet carpets from the pub were laid out to dry on the car park and the road outside was strewn with debris.

The water level was so high at one point that the A666 was closed near the Turton and Entwistle reservoir turn off after water levels rose to around 5ft.

One van was stranded at the junction of Green Arms Road and was almost completely submerged in water.

The chaos was made worse because motorists driving through inches of water in Egerton were not aware the road had been closed off further ahead. Motorists were queueing for up to an hour before having to turn round. The road was closed for several hours until the water had subsided.

The situation was just as bad in Belmont and Abbey Village where some drivers had to abandon their cars.

Fire crews were also called to flooding-related incidents in Horwich, including a doctor's surgery in Ramsbottom Road which had problems with a blocked drain and water in the cellar.

Firefighters were also called to flash floods in residential streets in Radcliffe and Ainsworth, Bury.

A couple in Bromley Cross were devastated after their garage was flooded in the heavy rainfall - just two years after a flash flood destroyed the ground floor of their home.

Christine and Robert Young, of Ramwells Brow, spent more than an hour shovelling bucketfuls of water out of the garage which was full of electrical equipment.

Just two years ago, a flash flood caused £40,000 worth of damage at the home after water seeped into the entire ground floor.

Mrs Young, aged 47, said: "The last time it flooded two years ago, the council assured us it would never happen again. They put another drain in but now there has been bad weather again - its happened again. We have had enough."

Derek Walker, landlord of the Cross Guns Inn in Blackburn Road, said: "It was just horrendous.

"The water came all at once and ruined the carpets in the pub. It was just like a river with several feet of water running down the road."