People in North Yorkshire market town rally round in clean-up effort after Storm Darragh

Reporter Kris Jepson has been to visit a North Yorkshire town badly hit by flooding caused by Storm Darragh

People in a North Yorkshire market town have come together to help each other out following devastating flooding caused by Storm Darragh.

Fire crews were deployed to Kirkbymoorside on Saturday night (7 December) where they helped to pump away water after a "large number" of residential properties were flooded.

The Red Cross was also called upon to assist, after many residents who were displaced by the flooding were moved to local shelters.

Now the community itself is rallying round to help neighbours with the ongoing clean-up.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said a 'large number' of residential properties in Kirkbymoorside were affected by the flooding. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

'That's Kirkby for you'

Jean Illingworth, deputy mayor of Kirkbymoorside, said: "On Saturday night, a new veterans group was formed, and they turned up and said 'right, where do you need help?'

"They were immediately down at Kirkby Mills bailing people out and helping to clear out houses, and they were back again this morning saying what do you need doing?

"The local shop brought food down, people have been offering accommodation, everybody and anybody who can help is doing, that's Kirkby for you."

Nigel Richardson, who has volunteered to help with the clear up, said: "We're going round houses, knocking on doors.

"There might be some people who are on their own and haven't seen anybody for a couple of days because they couldn't get out, so we're just knocking on doors seeing what people want and asking if they're OK."

Council officials have been co-ordinating the clear-up efforts from the 'Moorside Room' community centre. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

Linda Knight, whose house was flooded over the weekend, said: "The inside of our house is about a foot below ground level.

"Because it's such an old house, it's affected all the house and also the outbuildings, the workshop and the laundry room, so it's pretty bad.

"We couldn't actually get out of the house for the first couple of hours because the water was too deep to wade through, so we just had to wait."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...