TWO people had to be winched to safety last night during a dramatic rescue operation from a swollen river.

Two crews of firefighters and an RAF Boulmer helicopter took part in the fight to free the man and a girl from a Mitsubishi Shogun after they had tried to cross Stanhope Ford, in Weardale, at 8.50pm.

The water had risen up to the vehicle's bonnet and swept the Mitsubishi part way down the river.

Sub-officer Phillip Jensen, of Crook Fire Station, said: "Conditions were very dangerous. The river was rising while we were there, which we were very concerned about."

Fire crews had just launched their rescue boat when the RAF helicopter arrived and winched the pair to safety, more than an hour after their ordeal began.

The man, aged 22 and from High Spen, and the girl, aged 16 and from Consett, were uninjured.

Earlier, flash floods and forked lightning had swept across the North-East leaving 114,000 homes and businesses without power, and a trail of debris.

Power was eventually restored to 94,000 properties and engineers were working through the night to deliver power to the remaining 20,000.

In Low Coniscliffe, near Darlington, one house had its chimney blasted off after being struck by lightning, leaving debris scattered across the garden.

In many parts, the storms lasted less than an hour before moving on to other parts of the region.

A spokesman for the Met Office said the bad weather had come up from the South-West and that heavy showers were expected today.