Lyme Park closed after the 600-year-old stately home hit by 'devastating' flooding

A massive clean-up operation is underway at a National Trust estate in Cheshire after serious flooding.

Lyme Park was evacuated on Wednesday and remains closed after rising floodwaters blocked routes to the car park.

Staff say the heavy rainfall which caused flooding across the county earlier this week has caused damage to buildings, paths and roads throughout the estate.

The house - which was used as the home of Mr Darcy in the 1995 adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice' - sits in a deer park of more than 1300 acres.

Staff at Lyme Park say it was the 17-acre gardens that bore some of the worst of the damage, with paths, fences and planting washed away by the force of the waters.

National Trust staff and conservation specialists are onsite toassess what needs to be done and begin the long work of cleaning upthe debris and mud left by the the flood waters that rushed through parts of the main house and the buildings around the Timber Yard. Eleanor Underhill, the Director of Operations for Cheshire and Merseyside says the water was flooding in from all directions.

The antiques and mansion interiors were saved by National Trust staff working through the evening to shore up defences.

The Lead Ranger of the estate added, “It’s devastating when we see the place we work so hard to look after impacted in this way. Theongoing support of our visitors and members is even more vital at times like these, as we know recovery from the flooding will be costly to us."