This is Leicestershire -- Thunderstorms caused havoc in Leicestershire, damaging shops and homes, and turning a town centre high street into a river. Waist-height water rushed through Market Harborough last night, flooding businesses and leaving cars floating down the street. The Red Cow pub in the High Street was among those hit as half the average July rainfall came down in less than six hours. Landlord Wes Bates said: "I've never seen anything like it. "The water started rushing in through the doors and we had to lock our customers in." He said: "We lost thousands of quids worth of stock - all the alcohol in the cellar is ruined because it was completely flooded - there were loads of barrels just floating around. "Other pubs were having to evacuate and the traffic just stopped moving. "It was like a river and there's a lot of cleaning up to do now." Dave Hunn and his partner Ellie Smith were driving through the town centre when they were struck by a "tidal wave". Dave, 60, said: "We were planning to go to a curry house and at first the water was just halfway up our wheels - it was just rain and it's not something you would panic about. "Then we turned a corner and a huge tidal wave hit us and suddenly we were floating. "Elly was petrified. The water was up to the doors so we couldn't open them. "Luckily a couple of lads who were outside enjoying all the water came and pushed us to terrra firma. "There were four people in a Mini behind us who experienced the same thing, although they got out of their car because the water was seeping in and soaking them. "The two men in the car lost their shoes. They had been trying to go to a pizza restaurant but that was being evacuated because of the water rushing in. "I've never seen anything like it in my life. It's just so unexpected." Today business managers were clearing up. Wes Suter who runs Steffans Jewellers in The Square was counting the cost. He said: "The water was obviously three of four feet high out in the street because it managed to move furniture around inside our store. "A lot of businesses are affected." John Cooper, managing director of Cooper Estates in The Square, said: "Water had been just flooding in the front door and out the back and it's caused a lot of damage. "We've been here 25 years and seen flooding in the past but the local authorities have taken a lot of steps to prevent it so this has come as a big surprise. "The feeling was that this sort of thing shouldn't happen again." Malcolm Lever-Jones, spokesman for the Harborough Independent Retailers Association said about 40 businesses had suffered serious damage in the town. Elsewhere in Leicestershire there were properties flooded in Leicester, Birstall, Thurnby, Kibworth and elsewhere as 35mm (1.4ins) of rain fell in just six hours. Alex Moore, 52, who lives in Station Road, Thurnby, said there was a problem with the drainage system. He said: "A guy down the road had his house flooded and the man over the road had his house and garage flooded. "There was a bungalow that was flooded with water from the drains. "The water was absolutely flooding down the hill. "Severn Trent came to pump out. The problem seems to be the underground pipes - the heavy covers are just pushed off by the water pressure." Fire crews also helped three people from a flooded car in Little Glen Road, Glen Parva, at about 10.30pm on Saturday night. In Coalville at 12.10am on Sunday, fire crews from the town were called to Victoria Road after a building was struck by lightning, loosening bricks. Between 9pm and midnight on Saturday firefighters helped deal with flooded properties in several areas of Leicester including Uppingham Road, St Matthews and Braunstone Gate, as well attending other incidents in Kibworth and South Wigston. In many cases there were problems with electricity supplies and leaking sewage. Flooding was also reported in Aylestone, Mountsorrel and on the A6 in Birstall. Heavy rain warnings remain in place for the county. Leicester Mercury weatherman Dave Mutton said: "I measured 35mm falling on Saturday night from 6.30pm until midnight and that's about half of the average July rainfall in one go. "There are plenty of more heavy showers on their way."
Reported by This is 17 hours ago.
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