UK weather: Two areas declare major incidents – as man’s body recovered from flood-hit area
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Two counties in England have declared major incidents as the UK continues to be battered by bad weather – with hundreds of flood alerts and warnings also in place.
It comes as a man’s body has been recovered from an area of flooding in North Yorkshire.
Police say the body was found near Intake Lane in Beal, close to Eggborough and Knottingley.
Officers believe the man, described as white, in his early 50s to 60s, with light brown short hair and stubble, may have entered the water in the last 24 to 48 hours.
It is unclear how the man, who has been “informally identified” by police, died.
On Monday, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire both declared major incidents in response to the extreme weather hitting the UK and Ireland.
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue was the first emergency service in England to declare an incident and said it had received more than 200 calls since Monday morning over widespread flooding.
They rescued 59 people on Monday, while authorities in Lincolnshire warned conditions could deteriorate overnight as lying water freezes.
The Lincolnshire Resilience Forum declared a major incident shortly after, and noted that emergency services had rescued children who were stranded at a school in Edenham.
The resilience group said 45 pupils were “safely evacuated” thanks to firefighters and volunteers.
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Local hero saves driver from flood
Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, said in a post on X: “Major incidents have been declared in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire due to severe flooding.
“My thoughts are with all those affected and my thanks to responders working hard to keep communities safe.
“Anyone in these areas should follow advice from the emergency services.”
There are currently 190 flood alerts across England, with one severe alert for part of the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar in Leicestershire.
There are also more than 300 flood alerts, which are less serious than flood warnings, in place.
Meanwhile, the Met Office has three yellow weather warnings – each for snow and ice – into Tuesday morning.
Pic: Met Office
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A warning covering the west and north coast of Scotland – reaching into Inverness and Aberdeen – will last until midday, while an alert in effect for all of Northern Ireland will last until 11am.
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Ducks swim through frozen lake as snow covers Ilkley.
The Met Office has also issued a warning covering Wales and parts of northwest England on Monday evening, moving into southwest England, the Midlands and parts of southern England in the early hours of Tuesday.
On Wednesday, a yellow weather warning for snow is in effect across the south of England – stretching from just above Truro in Cornwall to Canterbury in Kent – from 9am to midnight.
