Floody hell!

Ramsbottom was brought to a standstill when Springwood Lodge burst its banks, flooding into Carr Bank Road and cascading down Bridge Street.

Torrential rain caused traffic chaos as roads became gridlocked throughout the borough, and many commuters took hours to travel home and some were even forced to abandoned their cars.

A massive clean-up operation by the fire service throughout the night and other helpers on Saturday morning was too late to save the Ramsbottom Sports Festival which had to be cancelled after Nuttall Park disappeared under about 3ft of water.

Two sheep were left stranded in the park after being swept from nearby fields by the fast-flowing floods. One passer-by rescued one of the farm animals but the other was again swept away.

Carriageways and pavements were submerged as the river of lodge water, six-inhces deep, poured down Bridge Street, causing havoc for motorists and pedestrians and inundating side roads. A section of the town's riverside park was engulfed by the swollen Irwell.

Pedestrian Mrs Angela Allen, of Peel Brow, said: "I have lived here for 22 years and have never seen anything like it.

"It is like a swimming pool in places."

One woman motorist, trapped in her car, added: "It is horrendous and absolutely unbelievable. I have never seen so much water."

Water seeped into cottages in Springwood Street, Ramsbottom.

Couple Jim and Mary Collinson's carpets were ruined when water poured into their home in Springwood Street, Ramsbottom, leaving behind a mud bath.

Fire crews worked around the clock from 5.30pm on Friday dealing with a staggering 800 flood-related calls.

A spokesman for Bury Fire Station said: "We were called out everywhere, Walmersley Road, Stubbins Bridge, Bury Bridge, it is impossible to list them all.

"It got so bad that we carried lists of all the calls so we could deal with one and get to the other."

He added: "There was little we could do apart from check the drains and offer advice. Pumping the water back into the drains, which were blocked meant the water would just reappear somewhere else."

John Hughes, proprietor of Memories in Bridge Street, Ramsbottom, was forced to shut off half of his shop on Saturday after mud and water seeped into the store.

He said: "Half our car park is now in the store! Everything on the floor has been destroyed but we won't know the cost until the clean-up is over. It's a case of waiting for everything to dry and just rip it off the floor."

Suzanne Wallwork, manager of the Sue Ryder charity shop in Bridge Street, was one of the lucky ones whose premises escaped the floods.

She said: "But trying to cross Bridge Street was horrendous. It was like a fast flowing river.

"The water was a few inches deep, but it was the flow of the water which swept you away.

"My staff and I were drenched up to the knees and when we got to the charity shop we had to look for some dry clothes to wear!"

Mrs Wallwork added: "On Saturday morning the streets were filthy. You can imagine what was coming out of the drains."

Ramsons Restaurant lost £800 when diners cancelled after hearing parts of the town had been flooded.

For the East Lancashire Railway, a tree falling into the river caused major structural damage at Ewood Bridge, Irwell Vale. Services north of Ramsbottom have been cancelled indefinitely.

Extensive flooding was also reported at Stubbins Street which was closed off after a car broke down and was immersed in water. The notorious Stubbins Bridge was also flooded. Manchester Road, Shuttleworth; Bolton Road West, Ramsbottom; and Greenmount Cricket Club also suffered.

Elsewhere in the borough, commuters abandoned their cars on Peel Way and flooding was reported in the Ainsworth area while the pressure of water forced up manhole covers in Manchester Road.

Water Street in Radcliffe, and Hilton Lane and Rainsough Brow in Prestwich were also badly affected.