Residents and businesses across East Lancashire have been left to deal with the aftermath of Storm Bert, which left roads and buildings flooded at the weekend.
Heavy rain and snow caused river levels to rise on Saturday (November 23). Weather and flood warnings were issued for parts of East Lancashire. As a result, roads began to flood with Rossendale towns among the worst affected areas.
The fire service said it was inundated with calls on Saturday (November 23) and rescued two people who were stranded in a car, on Market Street, in Bacup.
The fire service said it received 53 calls, related to flooding, in a 24-hour period.
The majority of the calls involved properties that had been flooded, affecting the electricity supply on the premises.
One person was Andrew Jones, who only opened Bacup Bargains (The Hub) on Wednesday. The not-for-profit business, which sells new and used goods and reinvests them back into the business, lost around £100 in stock due to flood water.
“We probably lost around £100 in stock with clothes we have had to use as sandbags to keep the water out.
“We covered up the electric box which is good because at one point the water was rising to the box.”
Andrew, who lives in nearby Stacksteads, said he has never seen flooding as bad as this.
He said: “I have never seen it this bad. Early Sunday morning [was also] terrible. The roads were still flooded with water and you couldn’t even get to the building.”
There have also been reports of water damage at residents’ homes. A woman in Bacup told the Lancashire Telegraph she had to leave her home for the safety of her children.
Rawtenstall’s Christmas light switch-on event, which was set to take place on Saturday, was cancelled due to the storm. Blackburn Rovers and Accrington Stanley both had to postpone fixtures.
Rossendale councillor, Alyson Barnes, said a clean-up operation was in place on Sunday with road sweepers set to descend on Monday.
They will be focussing on main roads in Rawtenstall, Haslingden, Bacup and Whitworth before working outwards to the other areas.
She said: "The Environment Agency and Lancashire County Council [have been] clearing culverts and gullies today.
"[The council] has an additional road sweeper on hire at the moment for the leaf fall season so we will have two road sweepers and two footpath sweepers out tomorrow.
Flooding at Freshair on Burnley Road, Bacup (Image: Charli-Mae Sutcliffe)
"They will be focussing on the main areas of the town centre which experienced flooding and main roads in Rawtenstall, Haslingden, Bacup and Whitworth before working outwards to the other areas.
"[Cleaners] will also be out in Bacup, Rawtenstall and Haslingden helping with the cleanup before moving out to the surrounding areas.”
"The green spaces teams will be starting with drain clearance and gully clearance in the main parks and will be called in to the other areas once we have more of an assessment [on Monday morning]."
Were you affected by Storm Bert? Email your story to: lt_editorial@nqnw.co.uk.
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