VIDEO: Floods cause havoc in Lancaster and Morecambe

Residents found themselves knee-deep in water inside their homes as the flood waters rose after a day of consistent rain on Wednesday.

Some main roads were closed on Thursday morning, as was Lancaster and Morecambe College due to a flood in the boiler house, and fields were under water across the area

Most flood and weather warnings had been removed by Thursday morning as residents coped with scenes of devastation to their properties.

Andy Watkinson, who lives in Low Road, Halton, said on Wednesday night the downstairs of his house now looked like 'The Upside Down' from hit TV show 'Stranger Things'.

"It was knee deep all over my house," he said.

"We had no gas and no electric. The little ones are being picked up by grandparents and then the tidy up will begin."

Mr Watkinson criticised local authorities for not clearing the drains of leaves quickly enough.

Anne Rothwell said: “I was in Halton last night and it was dreadful – like a scene from a disaster movie.

"People were out and about desperately trying to protect their properties. I can’t understand why it flooded at virtually the highest point in the village on High Road.”

She said Halton also flooded at the lowest point near St Wilfrid’s Church where water cascaded over the road forcing traffic to turn around and seek other routes.

The Red Door Cafe in Halton, which was hit by the floods of Storm Desmond in 2015, suffered flooding again.

Fire crews pumped water away from houses in Pennystone Road where several homes had flooded on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile in Galgate, 27 residents were evacuated from their houses and were housed in local pubs overnight and Main Road was under water.

Houses were under two or three feet of water and some people had "lost everything", said reporter Gayle Rouncivell, who visited residents' homes on Thursday morning while the clean-up was taking place.

"They told me they were holding the front doors to keep the water out but they just burst open," she said.

The A6 at Galgate was closed on Thursday morning due to flooding but we were getting reports by 10.30am that it had reopened.

Councillor Brendan Hughes, from Lancaster City Council, was in Galgate on Thursday morning and said the council cleansing teams had been out since 5am on Thursday to help the clean-up operation.

"The fire brigade are on the scene offering to pump out water from houses," said Coun Hughes.

"Five or six residents have been flooded at ground floor level.

"Everybody is pulling together trying to help.

"Pretty much all the roads are open now apart from a few side roads."

The Bay Gateway was flooded at the Halton end on Thursday morning.

In Morecambe, Lancaster and Morecambe College was closed on Thursday due to a flood in the boiler house. Wes Johnson, principal, said it was unlikely to reopen until next week.

"Our boiler room is flooded with about three feet of water," said Mr Johnson.

"Without heating we've not been able to have students or staff in today so unfortunately we've had to close the college.

"We're really grateful to Lancashire Fire and Rescue for literally pumping us out. Once we've got the boiler room clear of water we'll get our electrical contractors to evaluate the situation. We're endeavouring to open at the earliest opportunity and that's likely to be next week now."

No other schools in the Lancaster and Morecambe district had reported closures. However Dallam School in Milnthorpe was closed on Thursday due to the conditions of roads and transport problems caused by the rain.

A playing field next to The Bay Gateway near Lancaster and Morecambe College was almost completely under water on Thursday morning.

A resident of Heysham said he suffered rain damage to his home overnight on Wednesday which caused his electrics to go off.

Morecambe Area Police put a statement out on Wednesday night advising people not to use Middleton Road from Heysham Golf Club to the Carr Lane area due to flooding.

The underpass where the buses go at Lancaster University was flooded but the university was open with business as usual.

Students were filmed swimming in the flood waters and even using inflatables.

Close to Lancaster city centre, a resident of Bradshaw Street, Primrose, said her cellar had been flooded.

The weather forecast for Thursday was showers with bright spells and colder than Wednesday. Rain warnings were lifted on Thursday morning.

A flood alert was still in place on Thursday morning for the Lower River Lune Conder where flooding is possible. The Government's flood warning website said: "River levels remain high following yesterday’s heavy rainfall. The heavy rainfall has cleared the area and river levels are dropping. We forecast that the alert will be removed by early afternoon of Thursday 23 November."

A flood alert was also still in place at Upper River Wyre, Brock.

There were flood alerts at Burrow Beck at Lancaster, affecting properties on Canterbury Ave close to Burrow Beck, Burrow Beck at Lancaster, bordering the river from Canterbury Ave to Scotforth Rd, River Conder at Galgate, areas adjacent to the River Conder, Whitley Beck and Ou Beck, River Conder at Galgate, between Leachfield Rd and Chapel St, River Lune at Halton, adjacent to river from Forgebank Walk to M6 bridge and River Lune at Skerton Pool, areas around Riverside Industrial Estate and Halton Training Camp. But these were lifted on Thursday morning.

A Lancashire County Council spokesman said: "Having had highways teams out overnight, assisting the emergency services, clearing drains and culverts, and delivering sandbags, Lancashire County Council staff will be out today assessing any damage caused by the flooding, and clearing debris from roads and drains. County Councillor Keith Iddon, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport, said: "My sympathies go out to everyone affected by last night's flooding. The problems were caused by the sheer volume of rainwater. We saw very high river levels, including the River Conder breaking its banks in Galgate, which meant that water pouring off the land into drains on the roads had nowhere to go. Fortunately, when the rain stopped at around 4am this morning, we saw the flooding clear quite quickly. "Our out of hours teams across the county, include drivers on standby for gritting duties, spent all night assisting the emergency services, clearing drains and culverts, putting out warning signs and delivering sandbags. "We will have other staff out today assessing damage to our highways, clearing any debris left on roads or washed into drains, as well as visiting affecting residents to offer support and advice."

The Met Office said around 1.7in (4.3cm) of rain had fallen in 24 hours in parts of Lancashire with United Utilities saying rainfall had reached "unprecedented levels".