Flood death toll reaches four

A 17-year-old girl on holiday in Wales, a motorcyclist travelling through North Yorkshire and a young couple from Plymouth all died in treacherous conditions on the roads.

A busy sporting calendar was brought to a standstill, while several rivers burst their banks as seven severe flood warnings were issued by the Environment Agency .

In the village of Kirkley Mill, Northumberland, an RSPCA emergency team, called out to help some horses, found themselves rescuing a baby trapped in a car.

Spokeswoman Katie Geary said: "The horses were fine but when we got there we found a couple trying to get their baby out of a car. The door had been jammed - they were very relieved we were able to help."

Cumbria, Durham, Newcastle and North Yorkshire were among the worst-hit areas, an EA spokeswoman said.

She added: "The majority of the warnings are in the North East, where they have got a serious amount of rain battering down on them. The rain is moving very slowly so it could be sustained for a good few hours. It is very hard to say whether this situation will get worse or better."

The 17-year-old girl, who died when the 4x4 she was in plunged into floodwater in a remote area of forestry in Powys, Mid Wales, was holidaying with "companions" from south-east England, police said.

Earlier, a man and a woman - named locally as Barry Rowe and Rebecca Hoynes - died when their vehicle collided with a tree. The accident happened in Embankment Road, Plymouth, in heavy rain.

Details later emerged of a 42-year-old Sheffield man killed when the Kawasaki motorbike he was riding hit a tree branch on the A66 near Scotch Corner on Friday afternoon.