Worst of flooding set to hit Sheffield in early hours

Coun Mark Jones, cabinet member for environment, streetscene and climate change, says there are no plans to evacuate people yet but the council will keep communicating.

Flood defences installed after the catastrophic flood in 2007 are so far holding up well.

But there is concern over the flooding at Blackburn Brook at Wincobank and there will be an investigation into how its flood defences were breached. Around £2m was spent on defences there in 2014.

Coun Jones said: “We are expecting the worst of the flooding to hit at 1am and there is more rain forecast over the weekend and into next week so we are continually monitoring the situation. We have no plans to evacuate at the moment.

“Blackburn brook is a significant concern but elsewhere the flood defences we put in after 2007 are holding and seem to be doing the job.

“We will be reviewing the newer flood defences at Blackburn brook and why it has happened there.

“We are telling people to keep away from the flood water as much as possible.”

Look North weatherman Paul Hudson said Sheffield had seen its fifth wettest autumn since records began in 1882 and there was another six hours of rain forecast.

Sheffield was brought to a virtual standstill at rush-hour as the torrential rain caused extensive flooding across the city.

Roads were closed with trains, buses and schools all affected by heavy downpours throughout Thursday.

Met Office forecasters had warned of a ‘danger to life’ and ‘significant disruption’ – issuing an amber alert, the second most serious kind.

Some of the worst affected areas were in the north of the city along the Don valley, with Penistone Road and Kelham Island particularly badly hit.

Woodseats also saw major flooding and Rotherham train station was closed. Meadowhall Interchange was also closed due to a risk of flooding as the River Don continued to rise.

The disruption brought back memories for many of the last major floods in 2007, when homes and businesses across the city found themselves under water.

By mid-afternoon, Sheffield Council had declared the flooding a ‘full blown incident’ which the city was struggling to cope with.

Hinde House, Ecclesfield and Sacred Heart Primary School in Hillsborough all closed early and sent pupils home.

Dearne Valley College closed earlyfor safety reasons as a result of ‘persistent adverse weather conditions disruption in the local area’. And the Dinnington Campus of Rotherham College was been forced to close for the rest of the day.

And Northern Rail issued a ‘do not travel’ warning to commuters after services between Sheffield, Lincoln and Gainsborough were cancelled.

A disabled man had to be pulled from his abandoned car by Yorkshire Water staff at the junction of Falconers Lane and Retford Road which was completely submerged in water, with drivers left stranded on both sides.

More than 100 staff at the adjacent offices of Home Decor had to leave their cars behind and climb over fences to leave work.