Oceans HELL-even: Aerial shots reveal rising river creeping towards George and Amal Clooney’s £12m mansion in flood-hit Berkshire village
- The 17th-century, Grade II-listed mansion in the celebrity haunt of Sonning is located on an island in the river
- Photos taken today showed large pool of floodwater on lawn nearest to the boundary with the River Thames
- The Hollywood star and high-profile human rights lawyer moved into secluded home with their twins in 2016
George and Amal Clooney’s £12million mansion has fallen victim to Storm Christoph – after flood water from the swollen River Thames seeped onto the lawn.
The 17th-century, Grade II-listed house in the celebrity haunt of Sonning is located on an island in the river, which past the edge of their grounds.
Photos taken today showed a large pool of floodwater on the grass near the riverbank – although thankfully the summer house and tennis court appear to be unaffected.
The Hollywood star and human rights lawyer moved into the secluded home with their twins in 2016, after an intensive 18-month long refurbishment.
The Clooneys paid an undisclosed sum for the listed property, which was put on the market for £7.5 million, in September 2014, a couple of weeks after their three-day wedding extravaganza in Venice.
Last year the high-profile pair applied for planning permission for an outhouse to bolster security as the famous home attracts more tourists.
It comes as thousands of people across the country brace themselves for more flooding in the wake of Storm Christoph as the Met Office warned of ice danger and said the UK is set ‘to get more wintry’ with -10C over the weekend.
The 17th-century, Grade II-listed mansion in the celebrity haunt of Sonning is located on an island in the river, which past the edge of their grounds
Photos taken today showed a large pool of floodwater on the grass near the riverbank – although thankfully the summer house and tennis court appear to be unaffected
Care home residents were among those evacuated after floods in several areas across the North West and Wales following days of heavy rain.
A Met Office forecaster has said, however, that it is going to be ‘more wintry now’ as the storm moves away to the east.
Meteorologist Craig Snell added: ‘We’re losing the rain but gaining some colder and possibly some wintry weather too.’
A yellow weather warning for ice is in place along a large part of western coasts until 10am on Friday.
The alert – which stretches from the Scottish Highlands, down to the north west of England and into Wales, as well as covering Northern Ireland – says there is the possibility of injuries from icy conditions on ground which is already wet.
An additional yellow warning for snow and ice is in place across northern parts of Scotland until Friday lunchtime.
The chilly weather will continue into the weekend, when temperatures could drop to minus 10C overnight in localised parts of Scotland, and could dip as low as minus seven in parts of England, Mr Snell said.
He went on: ‘It will be feeling cold, I think that certainly that will be something that we will all be noticing it will be colder than it was to start the week.’
‘I think the main thing for most of us will be that we will see some frosty nights and with the ground wet from the rain we’ve had we may well see some icy patches,’ he later added.
The Clooneys paid an undisclosed sum for the listed property, which was put on the market for £7.5 million, in September 2014, a couple of weeks after their three-day wedding extravaganza in Venice
Last year the high-profile pair applied for planning permission for an outhouse to bolster security as the famous home attracts more tourists
One grandfather had to be taken to hospital after accidentally swallowing sewage water when his house was flooded.
Chris Spencer and his wife Marlene, both 70, were forced to flee their home in Chester on Wednesday night with the help of their family after dirty water began seeping in amid the bad weather caused by Storm Christoph.
Granddaughter Alex Roberts, who went to help her grandparents after receiving a call, said: ‘As he was trying to get out he fell over into the water and hurt his back, then he swallowed sewage water.
‘With that, he had hypothermia as well because he was so cold so he had to go to hospital and while we were trying to take him out of the water I swallowed some sewage water as well so I had to get antibiotics from the hospital too.’
Ms Roberts, 20, said she and her family, who live nearby, went round to help after receiving a call from her grandmother who was ‘crying her eyes out’ some time after 10pm.
‘It was just literal knee-deep water surrounding the whole of the houses,’ Ms Roberts said. ‘We ran in and we then figured out it was all sewage water so you can imagine the smell. Within five minutes it was at least three feet deep.’
It comes as thousands of people across the country brace themselves for more flooding in the wake of Storm Christoph as the Met Office warned of ice danger and said the UK is set ‘to get more wintry’ with -10C over the weekend
Up to four inches of SNOW and ice will sweep UK from TODAY, Met Office warns, with temperatures set to plunge to -10C this weekend – as flooding hell continues for thousands with 358 areas on alert for more mayhem after Storm Christoph
By James Gant for MailOnline
Snow and ice is set to sweep the UK from today – with temperatures expected to plunge to -10C over the weekend following days of flooding chaos in the wake of Storm Christoph.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather alert for wintry conditions across swathes of the UK, with up to four inches of snow forecast in parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England from 4pm.
Forecasters have warned that the UK – with the exception of parts of the east coast – could experience icy patches on roads, pavements and cycle paths, with some roads and railways likely to be impacted by snowfall.
Around 400 homes have been flooded as the result of Storm Christoph, the Environment Agency said today, with Britons in northern and central England urged to prepare for further flooding over the weekend due to ‘exceptionally high’ river levels.
One severe flood alert remains in place in England this afternoon, with experts warning flooding could pose a significant risk to life at the River Dee in Cheshire. There are also 138 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, and 123 flood alerts, where it is possible.
Among the victims of Storm Christoph are George and Amal Clooney, after the garden of their 17th-century, Grade II-listed mansion in Sonning was flooded by the burst banks of the River Thames.
Photographs taken today show a large pool of floodwater on the grass near the riverbank – although the summer house and tennis court appear to be unaffected.
The Met Office today said the UK is set to be hit by more wintry weather as Storm Christoph moves away to the East, with a yellow weather warning for ice and snow already in place across most of Britain until Sunday.
Steve Willington, Chief Forecaster for the Met Office, said: ‘The exit of Storm Christoph – which brought the heavy rain to a central band of the UK – has established a flow of colder air from Iceland and the Arctic. And this is bringing a mix of wintry hazards across the UK.
‘In clearer conditions, overnight ice will remain a hazard, while a band of snow is likely to bring falls of 1-3cm quite widely across central areas of the UK, particularly the Cotswolds and higher ground in the East Midlands on Sunday. But snow outside these areas is also a potential hazard.’
Around 400 homes have been flooded as the result of Storm Christoph, the Environment Agency said today, with Britons in northern and central England urged to prepare for further flooding over the weekend due to ‘exceptionally high’ river levels. Pictured: Ironbridge today
Pictured: Cars are engulfed by flooding in Shrewsbury today after Storm Christoph devastated parts of Britain
One severe flood alert remains in place in England this afternoon, with experts warning flooding could pose a significant risk to life at the River Dee in Cheshire. There are also 138 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, and 123 flood alerts, where it is possible. Pictured: Northwich, Cheshire today
Workmen clearing floodwater from the village of in Northwich, Cheshire, in the aftermath of Storm Christoph on Friday morning
Houses and rescue crafts are seen after serious flooding takes over an estate in Sankey Bridges, Warrington, on Friday morning
A man looks at the flood water from behind a flood barrier at a taxi rank in York on Friday morning
Flooded roads around Carringtonn greeted the high flying Manchester United stars as they arrived for training this morning
The outline of a 400-year-old English Civil War fort in Earith, Cambridgeshire, has been highlighted after heavy rain and flooding filled a moat around the earthworks
A house belonging to Vic Haddock is surrounded by floodwater from the River Severn in Ironbridge, Shropshire, on Friday morning
RSPCA officers rescue a dog called Pepper in Warrington after floods forced around 100 people to evacuate
A man and child walk through the remaining flood water outside the shops in the town centre Northwich, Cheshire, on Friday morning
The Boathouse from where Vic Haddock operates his canoe hire and bed and breakfast business is surrounded by floodwater from the River Severn in Ironbridge, Shropshire, today
Homes in Hereford, Herefordshire, turned into islands with a man pulling a boat seen here visiting on property in the city this morning
The River Ouse in York burst its banks and sent water teaming through the historic city in Yorkshire. This picture was taken on Friday morning
Dirty water flows down a street in York with a sign half submerged warning about flooding in the area on Friday morning
A man helps with the clean up operation in Northwich, Cheshire, as he wears wellies and overalls to lift up a drain covering
Water gushes past a fence that appears to have been ripped off during the stormy weather on Wednesday and Thursday
Workmen in a tractor clear floodwater from the village of in Northwich, Cheshire, in the aftermath of Storm Christoph
Grandfather is admitted to hospital after swallowing sewage water in his flooded home
A grandfather was taken to hospital after accidentally swallowing sewage water when his house was flooded.
Chris Spencer and his wife Marlene, both 70, were forced to flee their home in Chester on Wednesday night with the help of their family after dirty water began seeping in amid the bad weather caused by Storm Christoph.
Granddaughter Alex Roberts, who went to help her grandparents after receiving a call, told the PA news agency: ‘As he was trying to get out he fell over into the water and hurt his back, then he swallowed sewage water.
‘With that, he had hypothermia as well because he was so cold so he had to go to hospital and while we were trying to take him out of the water I swallowed some sewage water as well so I had to get antibiotics from the hospital too.’
The chilly weather will continue into the weekend, when temperatures could drop to minus 10C overnight in localised parts of Scotland, and could dip as low as minus seven in parts of England, Forecaster Craig Snell said.
He added: ‘It will be feeling cold, I think that certainly that will be something that we will all be noticing it will be colder than it was to start the week.’
‘I think the main thing for most of us will be that we will see some frosty nights and with the ground wet from the rain we’ve had we may well see some icy patches,’ he later added.
One grandfather had to be taken to hospital after accidentally swallowing sewage water when his house was flooded.
Chris Spencer and his wife Marlene, both 70, were forced to flee their home in Chester on Wednesday night with the help of their family after dirty water began seeping in amid the bad weather caused by Storm Christoph.
Granddaughter Alex Roberts, who went to help her grandparents after receiving a call, said: ‘As he was trying to get out he fell over into the water and hurt his back, then he swallowed sewage water.
‘With that, he had hypothermia as well because he was so cold so he had to go to hospital and while we were trying to take him out of the water I swallowed some sewage water as well so I had to get antibiotics from the hospital too.’
Ms Roberts, 20, said she and her family, who live nearby, went round to help after receiving a call from her grandmother who was ‘crying her eyes out’ some time after 10pm.
‘It was just literal knee-deep water surrounding the whole of the houses,’ Ms Roberts said. ‘We ran in and we then figured out it was all sewage water so you can imagine the smell. Within five minutes it was at least three feet deep.’
Knutsford Fire Station photos on Twitter show Knutsford firefighters with a fire engine assisting with evacuation efforts in and around Cheshire
Two people are helped through the floodwater as one takes a picture on his phone by a man wearing a hi-vis jacket in Hereford today
Business owner Charles Rose begins the clean up after Storm Christoph hit Cheshire causing floods in Northwich, Cheshire, today
An elderly resident makes his way through flood waters wearing wellington boots in Bangor-on-Dee in Wales this morning
A shop owner begins to clean up as floodwater begins to recede from the town of Northwich, Cheshire, in the aftermath of Storm Christoph today
Part of the racecourse in Knavesmire in York has been submerged in floodwater on Friday as a dog and his walker stroll the deluge
A shop display is left in disarray as floodwater begins to recede from the town of Northwich, Cheshire, on Friday morning
Vehicles remain stranded in the early morning sun by the River Dee just outside Bangor-on-Dee in Wales on Friday morning
Flooding in York is pictured in this photograph taken on Friday morning after the River Ouse bursts its banks
A man uses a JCB to move a sandbag along the Wharfage next to the River Severn in Ironbridge, Shropshire, with a property in the background surrounded by floodwater
The Environment Agency pump away water as floodwater begins to recede from the town of Northwich, Cheshire, this morning
Farmers take to the water in a small boat with a dog at the helm as they survey the flood water in Tirley, Gloucestershire, on Friday
Council workers and environmental health workers work on clearing away water which flooded the centre of Northwich in Cheshire
Two council workers smile for a photograph as they stand in flood water before working to clear it in Northwich, Cheshire
The teams of council workers are doing their best to pump away the huge quantity of flld water after the River Weaver burst its banks in Cheshire
Flood barriers have been put up in York city centre overnight as workmen and fire services try to defend businesses from the flooding
The chilly weather will continue into the weekend, when temperatures could drop to minus 10C overnight in localised parts of Scotland, and could dip as low as minus seven in parts of England, Mr Snell said. Pictured: Northwich today
A number of houses seen today on Walmer Street in Abbey Hey, Manchester, which fell into a giant sinkhole yesterday
Mr Spencer stayed at the Countess of Chester hospital overnight before being discharged at around 7am. He and his wife are now staying with Ms Roberts and her parents.
Ms Roberts said the pair are struggling to come to terms with what happened, and added: ‘They’re not really speaking much, they’re absolutely shook.
‘My nan is very upset, she keeps crying. It’s really hard to see them like that.’
The couple, neither of whom have had Covid vaccinations, are worried they will not receive any insurance money because there is a brook near their home.
North Wales Police slam people who drove to flood-hit areas to take photos
North Wales Police have slammed people who broke Covid travel rules by driving to take pictures of the floods which has driven families from their homes.
Houses were evacuated and people are sheltering in emergency rest centres after a storm-swollen river burst its banks in Ruthin.
Police and other emergency workers were ‘appalled’ to see people arriving in cars and taking photographs.
North Wales Police, Denbighshire Council and North Wales Fire and Rescue Service teams battled top help families after Storm Christoph wreaked havoc.
A police spokesman said ‘Regrettably, people who do not live locally are driving to the area to see the floods.
‘Not only is this in contravention of the Covid travel restrictions, it is putting lives at risk.
‘Emergency services are currently extremely busy trying to keep the public safe across the region. Please do not stretch our resources by adding to the problem.’
When the property was previously flooded eight years ago, Ms Roberts said, they did not receive a payout, so she has set up a crowdfunding page in an attempt to help them.
Among the items lost or damaged this time are brand new sofas, family photos and records which they have collected ‘for years and years’, while the sewage made it into their new conservatory and even their oven.
‘Pretty much everything you can think of has been destroyed,’ Ms Roberts said.
Natasha Bell was at the Bird in Hat bar in Northwich on Friday to check the damage caused by floods, but said it was not as bad as she had feared.
She told the PA news agency: ‘It’s the smell really, the smell and all the silt and everything that’s going to be needed to be cleaned. It’s not as bad as we thought, everything’s still standing.’
She said water had started to come into the building just after lunchtime on Thursday.
‘All the surface water hit and unfortunately started rising and rising through the floorboards, through to the cellar and it ended up with about two or three inches of water throughout the whole of the bar,’ she said.
‘There’s so much stuff in here we didn’t have the time to move, we couldn’t get it out so it was stand and watch it unfortunately.’
She added: ‘We opened on February 1 last year. After seven or eight weeks of being open Covid hit, we’re closed, we’re open again, we’re closed, we’re delivering, we’re closed, we’re open, we’re closed and now this.
‘But, you know what, we’ll come back.’
Carl Land, 57, said he and wife Lesley were evacuated from their narrowboat on Northwich Marina and had been staying with friends.
He said: ‘It’s very frightening. First time on this marina so seeing all this on the (River) Weaver, it’s terrible.’
Mr Land said he had come down to the marina on Friday to check on his boat named Lands End, and hoped they could return by Sunday. He said: ‘It was worrying but now I’ve seen her I feel a bit better. It’s just unusual to see such floods, I can’t get over it.’
Local authorities in Wales will offer payments of up to £1,000 per household to support those affected by flooding following Storm Christoph, First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.
‘Once again, communities have seen record rainfall and flooding damage, just a year after storms Ciara and Dennis,’ Mr Drakeford told a press conference in Cardiff.
‘My thoughts are with all those people who are returning to see their homes flooded. I want to extend my thanks to all those who worked through the night on Wednesday to protect life and property as the waters rose.
‘These really are unprecedented times for all those having to deal with both a pandemic and a flooded home. It is a reminder to us all that while the public health crisis has dominated our thoughts, the climate crisis continues.’
Mr Drakeford said the payments offered matched the level of support available a year ago following storms.
Dozens of care home residents were among those escorted from their homes as floodwaters rose in Cheshire on Thursday.
Around 40 residents were assisted out of the Weaver Court care home in Northwich, Cheshire, by fire crews with dinghies on Thursday afternoon, as most of the town centre laid under water.
A spokesman for Cheshire Constabulary said there had been about 100 people evacuated in Warrington, 48 in Northwich – where residents of a care home had to be taken to safety by firefighters – and four in Farndon.
Superintendent Julie Westgate said: ‘Whilst the heavy rain has stopped and flood waters are subsiding, a number of flood alerts and road closures remain in place and we are urging people to be aware of these and to only travel if it is absolutely essential.
‘If you do need to go out, please take extra care and allow more time for this as there is a risk of surface water flooding and weather-related debris in places.’
Elsewhere, people were also told to leave their homes in the Didsbury and Northenden areas of Greater Manchester, Bangor-on-Dee in North Wales and in the Skewen area of Neath, North Wales.
Meanwhile, South Wales Police said on Twitter that the body of a man had been recovered from the River Taff near Blackweir in Cardiff on Thursday, with the death being treated as unexplained.
In Wales, emergency teams were called out to protect supplies of the Oxford University and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine following flooding at Wrexham Industrial Estate.
A woman in wellington boots walks through flood water in York as she assesses the damage done to her area by the flooding
Businesses such as Holland and Barrett and Vision Express put sand bags in their doorways in a bid to keep out the flooding in Northwich, Chshire, today
The historic city of York is picture under flood water this morning, with some homes having lights on despite the deluge reaching their doorsteps
York city centre remains under flood water with paths and roads closed off to the public due to wet weather across the country
Flood defences in Bewdley in Worcestershire remain in place this morning as the River Severn could burst its banks again
Left: Water gushes out of hose pipes in York as people pump the flooding out of their buildings. Right: A flood warning sign in the city
A pub is submerged up to the first floor in York city centre on a street where most businesses have been affected by the flooding
Workmen put up flood barriers and help businesses in York this morning as people in the city try to defend their properties from the water
Three severe flood warnings – signifying a threat to life – remain in place on Friday morning on the River Dee at Farndon, Bangor-on-Dee and the Lower Dee Valley near Llangollen.
As of 5am on Friday morning, there were an additional 182 flood warnings and 176 less serious flood alerts still in place in England, 13 flood warnings and 27 flood alerts in Wales and four flood alerts in Scotland.
Areas which were hit the hardest by Storm Christoph experienced less rainfall on Thursday, with the highest daily total instead being recorded in Oxfordshire.
Nearly 50 vulnerable OAPs evacuated by boat
An urgent rescue operation was underway yesterday to evacuate nearly 50 vulnerable elderly people by boat after their retirement village was flooded under five feet of water.
Emergency services rushed to Weaver Court in Northwich, Cheshire, after it was left without any electricity or heating due to heavy flooding this morning. The vulnerable residents, some suffering from dementia, were trapped after their homes were submerged in more than 5ft (1.5m) of water.
Multiple fire engines rushed to the scene yesterday and a rescue boat was deployed to safely evacuate the pensioners. Around 50 residents and staff were believed to be stuck in the building. Lesley Davenport, whose 87-year-old grandma and 94-year-old granddad live at Weaver Court, said they were all ‘het up’ as they wait for their loved ones to be rescued.
Dozens of care home residents are rescued from Weaver Court Care Home in Northwich, Cheshire, this afternoon
She said: ‘They are going to be really cold – that is the main concern. There was a lady wading through the water, waist deep, just to get to the building. We are all het up – nothing seems to be getting done. I’ve been out here for a hour and a half and they just seem to be having meeting after meeting. The houseboats were evacuated yesterday and that’s when they should have evacuated Weaver Court.’
A spokesman at First Port, the development’s management company, said: ‘The safety of our residents is our utmost priority. As the development currently has no electricity, we are working with the council to safely evacuate residents to a nearby hotel. We will do all we can to support our residents, and to get the development habitable as quickly as possible.’
Neighbourhood policing inspector for Northwich Jason Murray added: ‘A decision was made earlier this morning with ourselves and our emergency service partners that it was necessary to evacuate the residents of Weaver Court for their own safety and principally because the electricity to the premises has had to be isolated because of rising water levels.’ People were taken to a leisure centre before being moved on to alternative accommodation, Inspector Murray said.
Overall, 31mm fell in Bicester between midnight and 8pm, and the second highest total was in Aberdeenshire, where 29mm fell over the same period.
‘Thankfully the areas that saw a lot of the rain on Tuesday and Wednesday have certainly been a bit drier today,’ Mr Snell said.
Environment Secretary George Eustice chaired a Cobra meeting in response to the ongoing flooding on Thursday afternoon, but reiterated ‘the danger has not passed’.
Mr Eustice said in a statement: ‘The water levels remain high and there is the risk of possible further flooding next week so everyone needs to remain vigilant, follow the advice and sign up for flood alerts.’
He added on BBC Breakfast: ‘If you look at this latest episode, we have had around 70 homes that have been flooded and that is a real tragedy for those (people).
‘It is incredibly disruptive when people have their homes flooded but around 26,000 homes have been protected from the various flood defence assets we have had in place.
‘We have got 600 people on the ground putting up temporary barriers, using pumps in areas of Manchester where there were particular flood challenges.’
He added: ‘We are particularly monitoring the situation in Yorkshire as the water moves through those river systems and, of course, preparing as well for next week where later next week more rain is expected.’
He said around £2.5billion has been spent on flood defences over the last five years.
General insurance leader at PwC UK Mohammad Khan said that based on current weather, the firm estimates insurance losses from Storm Christoph to be between £80 million and £120 million.
‘This is clearly dependent on what future rainfall occurs but currently would be less than the losses that occurred from Storm Ciara last year,’ he added.
Boris Johnson flew into a flood-hit area of Greater Manchester in an RAF helicopter after emergency services worked through the night elsewhere to protect a factory and warehouse involved in making a Covid-19 vaccine.
The Prime Minister spoke to some of the thousands of residents forced out of their homes in Didsbury after the storm swept across the country leaving thousands of people having to be evacuated amid major flooding.
Mr Johnson, who warned yesterday that ‘there will be more to come’, made a quick dash to Didsbury just hours after the worst of the storm hit.
It comes after he was criticised in March 2020 for taking three weeks to visit flood-hit towns in the Midlands, months after being heckled in November 2019 when visiting deluged areas of the North.
The Prime Minister suggested a major tree-planting programme could help protect against flooding in the long term.
He said: ‘One idea that everybody in the Environment Agency talks about, and I believe in absolutely passionately, is planting trees on the higher ground to help absorb some of that rainfall, to help mitigate the effects of flooding.
‘This Government has a very ambitious tree-planting programme, but, in my view, we’re not going fast enough.
‘As the spring comes and we come out of the pandemic, we’re going to want to see a lot done to build in long-term resilience against flooding and against climate change, and planting trees is a big part of that.’
Mr Johnson also defended the Government’s record on funding flood defences. ‘A huge amount has been done here in Greater Manchester, another £60 million has been put in to protecting the Greater Manchester area,’ he said.
‘You can see the defences that we have in place to protect people’s homes and people’s lives. But, be in no doubt, everybody who visits a flood area, anybody who has been through a flood knows the huge psychological, emotional and financial cost of flooding to people.’
But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said there had been a repeated pattern of floods followed by an ‘inadequate response’.
He told reporters in London: ‘We need to have a long-lasting solution to this, not promises that then aren’t fulfilled.’
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