Motorists warned over flooding across Northamptonshire

The county's fire service have been called to incidents over the last 36 hours

Author: Trevor ThomasPublished 23rd Sep 2024

Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service received 81 calls over the weekend (September 21st and 22nd) regarding weather related incidents. Twenty-eight of these needed the Fire Service to attend and the 53 other cases have been able to receive advice over the phone.

The county is currently under an Amber Alert until 9pm and Yellow Alert until midnight tonight and so, with the adverse weather continuing, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service is asking the public to be aware of roads that may be flooded and to keep listening to alerts and advice given by the Service and local authorities.

An area around Grendon Brook has also been under an Environment Agency river level warning for the Nene since early this morning.

Fire crews from Wellingborough and the water rescue unit from Mereway attended the village, where teams assisted residents whose properties were flooded, and rescued two people from the water.

Yesterday (Sunday 22nd), just before 1pm, firefighters were called to Washbrook Road in Rushden, where lightning had struck the chimney of a domestic property. The lightning strike caused the structure to become dangerous, and crews used the aerial appliance to remove loose bricks from the top of the chimney.

Area Fire Manager Neil Sadler said: “I want to urge members of the public to take care when driving and consider whether they could reschedule their journey. There may be abandoned cars on the road and hazards under the water that aren’t visible.

“We ask people to keep listening to forecasts and follow the safety messages and advice shared by the Fire Service and other partners during this time.”

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