Floods: 'It's Getting Worse And Worse'

June Brown, a councillor in the Lancashire village of Whalley, which is waist-high in water, urged residents to leave the village immediately.

Speaking to Sky News' Frazer Maude, Ms Brown said: "I've never seen it as bad as this - it's heartbreaking.

A man in his 70s was rescued from a submerged Land Rover, circled

"I would urge anyone to stay away from the village - it's not safe."

Ms Brown said people in the village would be angry at what had happened and she was unsure how the village would recover.

"If you are asked to move out, as devastating as it is, you have got to think of your life first, then your furniture etcetera afterwards," she said.

The high street in Whalley is under water, with cars submerged and most homes evacuated.

Some residents remained in their properties and could be seen bailing water out from inside, with buckets.  

Others were rescued in boats.

Hairdresser Kelly Hughes, also from Whalley, said she would not leave her shop and was barricading it with sandbags.

Soaked in water, she told Maude: "I will not leave my shop. We are just managing to keep water out.

People are being rescued from their homes. My friend lives in one of the houses.

"The water is up to the window sills - it's terrible."

Flood sirens have also sounded in Yorkshire, at Walsden, Todmorden, Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd in Calderdale.

A man in his 70s had to be rescued from a submerged Land Rover in Mytholmroyd.

In Ribchester, another resident, Megan, told Sky's Tom Parmenter that the weather was having a serious impact on residents.

"It's just been non-stop rain - it's been getting gradually worse and worse as the morning's gone on.

"As you can see the the village is not in a good way. But it's been really nice to see a big village effort."

Todmorden resident Lee Fraser, who lives on Halifax Road, said the road between the town and the neighbouring village of Hebden is underwater.

"It's getting worse and worse, it's been raining really heavily since last night," he added.

"The siren went off at about 7am this morning and 10 minutes later everything started flooding.

"A lot of people are moving their stuff upstairs in their houses and the police came and closed the roads.

"It's absolutely tipping it down so it's only going to get worse by the look of it."