RAF mounts flood rescue operation

Sheffield was virtually cut off on Monday afternoon as the floods left office workers stranded in the Brightside area of the city. Three yellow RAF helicopters could be seen circling above the city, plucking workers from their offices.

Three people were rescued from the premises of Jessops at Unit 24 on Brightside Lane earlier in the evening, with many more waiting for help. It is thought hundreds of people could be stranded and needing help.

Large parts of the city were left without power as the crisis developed throughout the afternoon and early evening, with added fears of sewage contamination.

The former industrial heartland of the city was submerged under several feet of water as the River Don burst its banks and the drainage system failed with the unprecedented rainfall. There were reports that several walls and buildings had collapsed because of the water.

Emergency services also evacuated 200 people from the Winn Gardens area of the city. A police spokesman said they were taken to Tapton School and All Saints School.

Meanwhile, police were urging people stranded in the city centre to make their way to the Winter Gardens where they will be directed. Police were also investigating reports that a young teenager had been swept away by the rising River Sheaf in the Millhouses Park area of Sheffield. He was reported to have been swept away at about 5.15pm near a playground area. The force helicopter was being used in the operation and officers were searching the banking.

David Blunkett, Labour MP for Sheffield Brightside, said: "The armed services are doing a first-class job in using helicopters to lift people from commercial premises in the Brightside Lane area of the city, and have promised further help if required."

He said that, along with other MPs, he would be seeking financial help from the Government for those affected.

Ronnie Metcalfe, spokeswoman for the rescue centre at RAF Kinloss, said she did not how many people had been airlifted from the Brightside complex but emergency services had rescued hundreds in the Sheffield area. "Our main concern is to prioritise those in the most distressing circumstances and try to get them out as quickly as possible," she said.