Road and rail chaos across UK as floods leave 3 dead

About 250 people were evacuated from their homes today because of fears that a dam could burst.

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council urged residents living near Ulley Dam in South Yorkshire to leave their houses after an expert warned of a "significant risk" the dam walls could fail after abnormally heavy rain.

The cost of flooding damage across much of Britain was expected to run into tens of millions of pounds, with the typical flood-related insurance claim reaching 15,000 to 20,000.

A 68-year-old man and a teenager were killed in Sheffield as rising flood waters brought chaos and destruction to the city.

And a 28-year-old man died after he became trapped in a drain despite a frantic attempt by emergency services to save him. The man was killed after becoming stuck in neck-high water in a storm drain in Hessle, near Hull.

Rail passengers were warned to expect "severe delays" on services between Edinburgh and London. The main east coast line was today closed between Doncaster and York and GNER was running a coach replacement service.

GNER spokesman Alan Hyde said: "The line is blocked north of Doncaster due to severe flooding. Services from Scotland to North Yorkshire are largely unaffected, but if you are going to London there will be delays. People can expect to add at least an hour to their journey time."

He said they hoped services would be running as normal tomorrow.

The weather forced the closure of some of Britain's busiest roads, including the M1, which was closed northbound between junctions 32 and 34 and southbound between junctions 36 and 34.

Virgin Trains was running an amended cross-country service to Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Bournemouth, Bristol, Plymouth, Southampton and Penzance. First Scotrail was running services from Glasgow to Edinburgh twice every hour.

Three people have died so far because of the severe flooding in the Yorkshire area.

A teenager who was swept to his death in a river in Sheffield was named today as Ryan Joe Parry, 14, who died on his way home from school yesterday.

Mike Barnett, 28, was killed after becoming stuck in neck-high water in a storm drain in Hessle.

The flooding also claimed the life of a 68-year-old man in Sheffield as he tried to cross a road flooded by water at about 8pm last night. He was swept away, possibly as he tried to leave his car.

Meanwhile, a man is feared dead after his car was found abandoned by the swollen River Tweed in the Borders.

However, police say they do not believe the incident is weather-related.

The family of Philip Shoemaker, from Kelso, are "extremely concerned" after his car was found by the River Tweed at about 7am yesterday. An RAF helicopter and two search teams failed to find the 51-year-old lorry driver.