Freak floods

Emergency rescue services in England are working around the clock to help hundreds of people stranded due to heavy flooding in the north of the country. The body of a 44-year-old policeman has been found after it was believed he was swept away following the collapse of a bridge.

"Police Constable Bill Barker died trying to save the lives of others. He was a very heroic, a very brave man," said Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who promised emergency help for the affected areas.

Britain's Environment Agency said the freak storms were a "one-in-one-thousand year" phenomenon. The Meteorological Office said the quantity of rainfall over the last 24 hours was equal to the expected rainfall for the whole month of November.

Flood defenses in northern towns have been overcome by the intense rains and roads have been closed as lifeboats, Royal Air Force helicopters and the military have been called in to help rescue hundreds of Britons stranded in their houses.

Media reports said some residents had been forced to smash through their roofs to escape rising waters.

"It was described to me this morning, this particular flood, as of biblical proportions," Tony Cunningham, parliamentarian for Workington, one of the worst-affected towns, told Sky News.

Around 250 people are being housed in rescue centers while more than 1,400 homes are without power, police said.

dfm/Reuters/AP

Editor: Kyle James