MOTORISTS had to be rescued from their cars as floods followed torrential rain in the Yorkshire Dales.

The occupants of five vehicles were helped by firefighters when they became trapped between two areas of flood water near Gunnerside just before 1pm on Tuesday. Crews broke a wall at the side of the road to allow the water to escape.

Four cars were stuck on the B6479 near Hawes when water flooded their engines as they drove through standing water.

Kirsty Handley said she was able to stop before her car was caught in the flood. She then helped to push several cars out of the water.

"It was a good job I had my wellies," she said. "The big vehicles were OK but most of the cars that tried to pass through were caught out because of the sheer volume of water."

Police said motorists near Aysgarth had also had problems when they ignored road closure signs.

Three houses in Colville Crescent, Colburn, were flooded and firefighters were called to pump them out.

Brompton-on-Swale caravan park was partly flooded and several occupants had to pack up and leave.

At the height of the rains on Tuesday night, ten flood warnings were in force in the Environment Agency's Dales area. Flood watches remained in force on Wednesday and floodgates were closed on the Tees at Croft and Yarm.

Engineers in Northallerton breathed a sigh of relief as the rain failed to cause any major problems.

North Yorkshire County Council divisional engineer Mike Roberts said this reflected well on work which has been done so far on boosting flood defences in the area.

"It is a relief and we are pleased the drainage systems appear to have coped given the conditions," said Mr Roberts.

A programme of work was launched after protests following serious flooding in the past couple of years.

There was a lucky escape at the village pub in Sandhutton.

Andy Whitlam, landlord at the King's Arms, was in the right place at the right time when a drain overflowed and caused water to seep into his pub.

"The drains could not cope and water started coming in the back of the pub, the bottle store and freezer room," he said. "Luckily, the floor is concrete and we sandbagged the other doors to stop water getting into the restaurant.

"As it happened, we were working downstairs when the water started to seep in and so we were able to take immediate action.