The wettest week since 1977 sees Derbyshire hit by floods

AS Kevin Stanley waded through the knee-high murky water towards his home in Ashbourne, he shook his head in dismay.

The 47-year-old had spent the past 10-years renovating the property, ploughing thousands of pounds into turning the building into a family home, only to see his work destroyed in one night.

In a matter of hours, dirty water from the nearby River Henmore flooding into his house in Mayfield Road and – despite Mr Stanley's frantic efforts to block the flow with anything he could find – quickly began to fill all downstairs rooms .

He said: "It was just was terrifying. I was woken up at about 3.30am on Saturday by my daughter, who went to the toilet and could hear water running down stairs.

"I got up and went down to see the water seeping through the doors and it rising outside the house – it was just below the windowsill at one point.

"We ended breaking bits of furniture up to put in front of the doors to try and stop the water from coming through.

"I had been working on the house for years. All that needed doing was the rendering on the outside and that was due to be done on Saturday but now everything is ruined – it's just heartbreaking.

"I had also bought a new car on Monday and that was filled with water.

"We have been concerned about the possibility of flooding for the past two years since a new road was put in and more building has been done in the area. We have been on at the Environment Agency for ages, saying that the flood defences wouldn't hold out."

Firefighters spent more than five hours pumping water from Mr Stanley's house and drive, as well as helping his neighbours, including Tina Harbinson, who runs The Lilacs bed and breakfast hotel two doors down.

The 61-year-old had two guests when the house was flooded. She said: "I have lived here for 38 years and have never seen anything like it.

"I was woken up by the neighbours and came downstairs to find the water up to the second step.

"It was just terrible seeing water gushing into the house."

Paul Griffiths, also of Mayfield Road, was away on holiday when he was called by friends who said that his house had been hit by floods.

Mr Griffiths said that residents of the street had been raising concerns about potential flooding for the past few years. He said: "It is just devastating. I am supposed to get flood alerts from the Environment Agency but didn't get any notification on my phone until about 6.45am on Saturday, hours after it had happened."

Ashbourne was one of the worst-hit areas of the county and a number of residents were evacuated or forced upstairs after the Henmore, which runs through the town, burst its banks.

Firefighters helped pump out the cellar of the Berrisford Arms, in King Edward Street, along with properties in Green Lane.

Car parks at Sainsbury's and Homebase were left covered in mud as flood water receded.

The high water levels made the A52 at Mayfield and the A515 at the Sturston Road and Belper Road junction almost impassable.

A pick-up truck driver miraculously managed to escape unhurt from his vehicle when rising waters washed it away as he tried to cross a ford in Green Lane.

An elderly woman was rescued by firefighters in a dinghy during the early hours of Saturday and nearby residents in Coopers Gardens were escorted out of their homes amid fears that they would be trapped by the rising water.

Bobby Sadler, 93, of Coachmans Close, Ashbourne, was brought to safety after scrambling on to a coal shed before being carried to a nearby dinghy by a firefighter.

Her son, Tim, lives in the same street and was also woken by the sound of the rising water. He said: "I heard a gurgling sound at about 3am and came down to see the water about one foot high. The first thing we did was call 999 and then call our daughter.

"My mum lives in the house opposite and, when we saw her light on, we called to check she was OK. As the water was so high, the fire service used a dinghy to rescue her."

Mr Sadler's wife, Judith, said: "She climbed on to a coal shed and then was carried to the dinghy by the firefighter. She is fine and is staying at my daughter's while the house is sorted out. You just don't really know where to begin. We are trying to clean up as best we can but there is just so much mud everywhere."

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service received more than 60 calls reporting flooding over the weekend. The busiest period was from midnight on Friday until lunchtime on Saturday.

Police were forced to close major routes across the county, including the A38 at Burnaston, and the rising water made some roads too dangerous to cross.

Residents of Egginton found themselves cut off as flood water blocked all routes into and out of the village.

People in Mickleover spent Friday night piling up sandbags in front of their homes in a desperate attempt to stop water from getting in.

Brian and Margaret Pearce, 63, along with son Johnathon, 30, tried hard to sweep the water out into the drains. Mr Pearce, 67, of Murray Road, said: "I was up all night with my son trying to stop the water from coming into the house.

"We put sandbags up against the garage and front doors and tried to sweep water into drains. The garage and alleyway were under two inches of water. It was a nightmare."

Water from fields behind Paul and Caroline Hibbitt's house in Morrfield, Matlock, flooded their garden and conservatory.

Mr Hibbit, 34, said: "We were up until about 5am Saturday morning. It is the second time we have flooded. The first time was last June.

"We were only just getting sorted from last time. We started panicking when it was raining heavily.

"It was four inches deep in the conservatory. We managed to get all the furniture out in time. It is just a nightmare."

Amateur weatherman, Philip Singleton, of Chaddesden, said that in the first seven days of September, Derby saw 103mm (more than four inches) of rain – almost double the average rainfall for the entire month. He said: "The average for the month is 57mm. Last week was the wettest since February 1977, when we had a similar amount of rainfall.

"The wettest in history was in 1957, when there was 142mm recorded and, if things carry on the way they have been, that record could be in jeopardy."

Villagers in Parwich, near Ashbourne, recorded 39mm in just eight hours on Friday night compared with the 31mm recorded in Derby on the same day.

Met Office forecaster Neil Armstrong said more rain was forecast for the coming days.

"On Tuesday, there will be more rain setting in which could be quite heavy, with up to 15mm falling in some places," he said. "But on Friday, there was three times as much."

Last night, flood watches – the lowest of three levels of flood alert – remained in place for Egginton; the River Dove at Fauld and Tutbury; the River Derwent and tributaries from Rowsley to the River Trent at Shardlow; and the River Trent and tributaries in Derbyshire from Newton Solney to Castle Donington