POLICE were last night evacuating scores of homes in east Cleveland as the floods crisis worsened.

Villagers in Skinningrove were being moved to a school in neighbouring Loftus as emergency services mounted a full-scale rescue operation.

Earlier, off-duty police officers were called in to help man a special command room to deal with the rapidly worsening situation.

A police spokesman said: "Heavy rain is causing major flooding problems throughout Cleveland.

"Numerous roads are blocked and standing water is creating hazardous driving conditions.

"A special command room has been set up at police headquarters to monitor the situation."

Roads across the region became impassable after more than 40mm of rain fell during the late afternoon, while many householders were left fearing the worst as they waited for torrential rain to translate into flooding.

The A19 was blocked on Teesside and the A1 was closed in both directions at Catterick, North Yorkshire.

The Environment Agency placed the entire region on flood alert as Prime Minister Tony Blair witnessed chaotic scenes in York, where further heavy rain put dozens of families at risk.

Mr Blair pledged further investment in flood defences when he visited the city as part of a tour of areas devastated by the worst storms in years. He cited climate changes as a chief reason for the disaster, saying: "We used to consider these flood events as a relatively rare occurrence but over the next few years we can expect to see these types of situations. We have to put a lot more investment in."

Forecasters say the desperate circumstances look likely to continue, with heavy rain and gale-force winds predicted for Sunday.

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said North Yorkshire remains the area at greatest risk, with three severe flood warnings and 59 first-level flood warnings issued for today. The agency was also monitoring the situation in Teesside, the Tyne and Wear valleys and Northumberland.

Last night, York flood control centre was using every emergency measure at its disposal in a bid to stave off a serious threat to homes in the Leeman Road area.

Army fire tenders from Shrewsbury were sent to the area as the situation worsened. The River Ouse peaked at 16 feet about normal - the third highest recorded in 100 years.

Emergency services battled to stem the flood waters on another disastrous day, which saw train services deteriorate and families fleeing their homes.

North Yorkshire was again the worst hit, with business chiefs estimating the damage at millions of pounds in areas which had only just recovered from last year's great floods.

GNER trains from the south were stopped at York because of floods at Skelton and passengers taken by bus to Darlington, where services to Scotland resumed.

Hundreds of people were forced out of their homes in Malton and Norton as the scale of the disaster surpassed the heavy floods of 18 months ago.

The Environment Agency said 100 properties were evacuated after the River Derwent, which runs between the two stricken towns, peaked at its highest ever level of 9.85m.

Meanwhile, residents of Naburn, North Yorkshire, were left completely marooned after power supplies were cut off and many had to take refuge in the village hall.

Contingency plans were drawn up by Environment Agency to evacuate the entire village of Cawood, near York, to temporary accommodation in Selby as homes were swamped and the Ouse swelled to a mile wide.

Nationally, the Environment Agency estimated floods were on the same scale as the March floods of 53 years ago, when 700,000 acres were submerged, but said it was too early to put a figure on the area flooded so far this week.

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