Storm Babet – live: Trapped residents airlifted from homes as flood waters rise amid ‘risk to life’ warning

People in up to 100 homes across Angus in East Scotland have been rescued from their flooded homes, with some airlifted out, a local authority official has said.

Jacqui Semple, head of risk, resilience and safety for Angus Council, said people were rescued from between 80 to 100 homes across the region.

In Bridge of Dun, residents were airlifted out via helicopter, while in other areas those stranded were rescued by boats, including canoes.

No-one is now thought to be stranded.

Ms Semple praised the response from those in Angus and elsewhere, saying offers of accommodation have come from the local area and further afield.

She said: “Fortunately the Met Office update and our Sepa update this morning is showing that we have an improving picture and the red warnings and our amber warnings they have been reduced in timescales to 6pm.

“So that means we are looking at definite improvements in our river levels.

“We’re not out of the woods by a long shot. There’s still a lot of rain to come through, but less so, and there is still a lot of water lying right across Angus. Lots of water in the upper catchments that will still have to come down into our rivers.”

Time-lapse footage shows the River North Esk bursting its banks and turning into a raging torrent as Storm Babet lashed Scotland.

Captured by Farson Digital Watercams in the Angus village of Edzell, the clip shows the river dramatically rising on Thursday evening.

“That’s a genuinely terrifying scene,” one person wrote, commenting on the video.

In the space of 18 hours – from 8:40am on Thursday to 4:10am on Friday 20 October – water levels surge before the webcam disconnects.

Jockey Hayley Turner made it safely to Ascot on Saturday after requiring a dramatic rescue from her flooded car on Friday.

The record-breaking rider is currently hunting down her 1,000th career victory and was hoping to arrive in Berkshire for Qipco British Champions Day on 999 winners, with a fancied ride on Docklands in the closing Balmoral Handicap.

The Environment Agency has warned that flooding from major rivers could continue until Tuesday, amid widespread disruption caused by Storm Babet which is posing a “risk to life” in some areas.

Three people have died since the storm hit the UK on Wednesday, while a search continues in Aberdeenshire after a report of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater.

Alexander-Arnold was involved in an accident after a 40ft electricity pylon smashed onto a car in front of the England international, according to The Sun.

The worst hit area in Scotland during Storm Babet is now an “improving picture”, but there are still fears of further floods as a red danger to life weather warning remains in place.

Forecasters have brought forward the end of the red warning in Scotland by six hours, but authorities remain braced for further flooding on Saturday afternoon amid the storm which has claimed the lives of two people north of the border.

People in up to 100 properties across Angus in East Scotland have been rescued from their flooded homes, with some airlifted out, a local authority official has said.

The alert for extreme rain during the storm now ends at 6pm, rather than midnight, and covers a smaller area than on Friday – solely Angus and Aberdeenshire.

Derby City Council said they are experiencing the highest recorded water levels of the River Derwent as roads were flooded across the city.

The council said in a statement: “It’s been a really challenging night for our crews, and emergency services across the city, and the picture in Derby remains challenging today with floodwater still affecting a lot of roads around the city.

“A Severe Flood Warning is in place for some areas of the city. The last time this kind of warning was issued was 10 years ago and is often related to coastal flooding, which indicates that this remains a serious situation.

“Our teams have worked tirelessly overnight, but we are expecting a second peak later this afternoon, so we aren’t out of the woods yet, and there is still a lot of work to do.

“We know that the river levels are likely to remain high for a number of hours, and will then go down very slowly.”

The council said cleaning up after the floods and reopening roads and footways may take several days.

Sandbags have been placed along a breached river wall in Brechin to try to prevent another deluge after the town was hit by “devastating” flooding from Storm Babet.

River Street and nearby areas in the town were inundated with water when the adjacent River South Esk burst its banks in the early hours of Friday.

The water had receded on Saturday, but the area was still at risk of flooding amid a second red weather warning for heavy rain in Angus.

The street was left strewn with debris and covered in silt on Saturday, with many homes damaged by water in the lower floors.

Almost all residents had left after being advised to evacuate or were rescued by emergency workers.

Many were sheltering in rest centres set up in the town.

A couple’s flight home from Cyprus was delayed and diverted in an “intensely frustrating” ordeal after a plane skidded off a runway at Leeds Bradford Airport.

Phil Casey, golf correspondent at PA Media, and his partner Ann Meredith, 51, were due to fly from Larnaca International Airport to Leeds at 11.20pm local time on Friday.

Their plans were disrupted after heavy winds forced a Tui flight to skid off a runway, causing the Leeds travel hub’s temporary closure.

Mr Casey, 49, of Leeds, said: “Obviously it’s intensely frustrating but at the same time you realise it’s out of the control of the airlines, so we had a certain amount of sympathy.

“And then yeah, to make matters slightly worse at one point they put up that the gate was opening in five minutes. And then five minutes later when I went to check again it said ‘gate now opening in 195 minutes’, so obviously slight difference.

“So yeah, obviously we were then concerned about getting back from Manchester.”

Aerial footage shared by Britain’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency shows the scale of Storm Babet flooding in the Scottish countryside.

“Communities across the UK have been badly hit by Storm Babet. This was the result in Scotland,” the coastguard wrote, sharing the footage on social media, urging residents to stay safe.

People in up to 100 homes across Angus, East Scotland, have been rescued from flooded buildings, with some airlifted out, a local authority official has said.

In Bridge of Dun, residents were airlifted out via helicopter, while in other areas those stranded were rescued by boats, including canoes.