The miserable task of mopping up after the worst flooding to hit Britain in living memory began yesterday as householders in the Midlands and East Anglia surveyed the dismal mess of their sodden property and possessions.
The Environment Agency announced they were "cautiously optimistic" that the flooding, which claimed five lives over the holiday weekend, had peaked and would recede. A spokesman said: "River levels will remain high for the next 48 hours and it will take some days to get back to normality."
Tens of thousands of people were affected by flooding when the river Nene and the River Great Ouse in East Anglia burst their banks after five days of continual downpour. An agency spokesman said the floods, which have caused chaos for tens of thousands of people over the past five days, were a "once in a 150year" phenomenon.
Peterborough was the latest city to be hit by flooding. At least 20 homes had been evacuated and some areas were under two feet of water. Rumours of looting spread as anxious householders were forced to leave possessions piled up outside their homes. Police said reports of robbery and looting were wildly exaggerated.
In Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, Evesham, Worcestershire, Northampton and Bedford, home owners and shopkeepers were wading through flooded streets to recover what they could.
The "monsoon" rain levels in river catchment areas had done more than wash out Britain's bank holiday plans. A month's worth of rain had fallen in less than a week, causing an estimated pounds £1.5 billion sterling's worth of damage. There was criticism of the Environment Agency for failing to issue adequate warnings. Yesterday Ms Kathy Lamptey (31), who lives in Kidlington with her three-year-old daughter, was caught in flash floods. "There was about three to four foot of water in my front room. I just managed to get a chair up on the table before water came pouring through the windows. It was a very frightening experience," she said.
In North Wales, families who expected to spend Easter on the beach went toboganning instead.