A huge clean up is underway in Yorkshire, after flash floods yesterday caused massive amounts of damage.

Torrential thunderstorms, which broke out yesterday over the North York Moors, following the extremely hot temperatures over the weekend, washed away roads, caused landslides and resulted in several villages being cut off.

Among the villages worst affected were Thirsk, Hawnby and Helmsley, where a bridge leading into the village was described as looking “perilous”.

The River Rye reportedly burst its banks, leaving several people stranded. RAF helicopter crews rescued a number of people in the area, who were stranded on cars, trees and rooftops, from the rising floodwater.

An elderly woman had to be winched to safety in Hawnby, after suffering a suspected heart attack.

Around 2,500 homes in North Yorkshire are also reported to be without electricity.

North Yorkshire police confirmed that the A170 and B1257 remained closed today.

Meanwhile, the rest of the UK basked in scorching temperatures, with London registering the hottest temperatures at 33C.

However, four people died in drowning accidents over the weekend, as people attempted to cool off in lakes and rivers.

Two men in their 30s drowned in separate incidents in lakes in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, while a 16-year-old boy died in hospital, after being rescued from the River Thames at Sunbury.

The body of a 23-year-old man was also pulled from the sea at Babbacombe in Devon.

(KMcA/SP)