South Yorkshire Police quash rumours about looting of evacuated homes

With hundreds of homes across the county evacuated due to last week’s floods, with the majority of affected residents in Doncaster, South Yorkshire Police said rumours of ‘criminality’ were ‘unhelpful’.

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The force said it is ‘not aware of any incidents’.

And is stressed that police patrols are being carried out in areas where homes have been abandoned because of the floods, which were caused by one month’s worth of rain falling in 24 hours last week.

The force said many officers have ‘volunteered to work on their rest days to patrol and protect the evacuated areas’.

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South Yorkshire Police said: “We are aware of unhelpful rumours of criminality affecting the evacuated properties.

“We have officers patrolling these properties around the clock to help secure them and to provide reassurance.

“We are not aware of any incidents.”