EMERGENCY services were braced to deal with more flooding misery last night after heavy rainfall hit the region.

North Yorkshire firefighters said they were on full alert to tackle yet more flood-related emergencies, only weeks after atrocious weather forced dozens of families out of their homes.

The county's deputy chief fire officer, Nigel Hutchinson, said: "Our experience of dealing with flooding incidents, particularly the type of flash floods caused by heavy rainfall, is well documented.

"It may become necessary to prioritise our response to ensure that those incidents of a life-threatening nature are dealt with immediately."

Properties in Stokesley and Ryedale were affected yesterday, and flash flooding again struck the beleaguered areas of Malton, Old Malton and Norton, while flood warnings were put in place on the east coast.

By last night, the Environment Agency had issued two warnings to residents of Scarborough and Sandsend. The North Yorkshire coast was severely affected by storms less than a month ago, when many residents of the Scarborough and Cayton Bay areas were forced to flee their homes to live in temporary accommodation.

On Teesside yesterday, stranded children were rescued when a school bus ground to a halt in a rising tide of flood water.

Firefighters had to carry 23 primary school children and two adults to safety when their Arriva bus stalled in 2ft of water.

Nine firemen formed a line to carry the youngsters off the bus and set them down on dry land to await a relief bus.

The drama unfolded in Bolckow Road, Grangetown.

The torrential downpour of rain responsible for the children's rescue caused traffic disruption elsewhere on Teesside.

Traffic had to be diverted when part of the road way in Skinner Street, Stockton, was swamped with water.

Police had to direct traffic away from the flooded Blue Bridge area at Norton for two hours.

And in Yarm High Street, water workers were called out to deal with a suspected burst water main.