flood warnings remained in place across the region last night as forecasters predicted a brief respite to the rain this weekend before the heavy downpours return.

News that rain is expected to fall again on Sunday night and continue for much of next week will be greeted with dismay by the emergency services.

Steve Wharton, of County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue, said the brigade had dealt with the equivalent of two days of calls in a couple of hours.

He said: "Most of our calls were between 2am and 5am and they were mainly in the Bishop Auckland area."

Seven people were rescued from their homes by firefighters using a dinghy in Evenwood, near Bishop Auckland.

Neighbours Margaret Crompton and Sue Robson were among those lifted to safety when water flooded their homes early yesterday.

Mrs Crompton said: "We were telephoned by the Environment Agency at 2.30am, and by 3.30am we had 8in of water. We were upstairs and didn't really want to leave, but they were concerned about the subsidence of the properties and we had to get in the boat."

Caravanners at Bishop Auckland Rugby Club had their cars and caravans flooded.

Ron Clough, from Willington, said: "I woke at about 5am to go to the toilet and looked out to see us surrounded by water. Then about two minutes later the caravan started to fill up."

The £8.7m flood defences, still under construction along the River Gaunless, managed to protect 400 homes in South Church, near Bishop Auckland.

But people in nearby West Auckland and Hummerbeck were not as fortunate - 40 homes were flooded.

Flood warnings remained in place last night on the River Wear at Chester-le-Street Riverside, Durham Riverside, Harbour House Farm, at Plawsworth, and Page Bank, near Spennymoor. The River Tees had warnings at Hurworth Place and Newbus Grange, near Darlington, and Lustrum Beck, at Stockton. In North Yorkshire, there was a flood warning on the River Nidd, at Knaresborough.

The River Wear burst its banks in Durham City, flooding the road and reaching the doorways of basement shops in Milburngate Mall.

Also in County Durham, commuters faced delays on the southbound A19 after a lorry became bogged down near Murton's Dalton Park.

Firefighters attended about 13 flooding incidents in the Hartlepool area, working most of the morning to clear water from the Station Hotel, Seaton Carew. Nearby homes were also affected.

A Cleveland Fire Brigade spokesman said: "All our appliances and 100 firefighters worked flat out in extreme weather conditions."

George Richardson, who lives near the Station Hotel and whose allotment was flooded, said: "A lot of gardens in the town were flooded, as well as the cricket field, the bowling green and Seaton Carew park."

Water companies have admitted dumping raw sewage into the North Sea during the past few days.

Northumbrian Water and Yorkshire Water have permission from the Environment Agency to release sewage into the sea to ease pressure on an overloaded sewerage system.

The Marine Conservation Society warned yesterday that excess rainwater poses a powerful pollution threat and called for permanent signs alerting the public to the dangers to be posted on all bathing beaches.