RURAL communities in the Yorkshire Dales are assessing the damage after some of the worst flooding to hit the area in living memory.

A man and a woman were still in hospital yesterday after they had to be rescued from their stranded car in Thornton Rust, between Leyburn and Hawes.

They were airlifted to the Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, suffering from hypothermia after being rescued by firefighters, however police said their condition was not life-threatening. They were airlifted to safety by a crew from RAF Leconfield, near Hull.

The co-pilot was Flight Lieutenant Andrew Johnston.

He said: “It was very windy – about 50mph – and there was also a lot of rain and sleet.

“The roads were virtually impassable, so we were asked to take the couple to hospital.

We landed in a field to pick them up.”

The Sea King helicopter was initially tasked with rescuing a motorist from a car stranded in flood water in neighbouring Swaledale.

However, the aircraft was diverted to Wensleydale because the incident was considered more serious.

The motorist stranded near Low Row, in Swaledale, was later rescued by firefighters.

Philip Bastow, senior officer at Reeth fire station, said the crew spent the day assisting motorists and preventing homes from flooding, particularly in Healaugh.

“I’ve never seen the water so high and rise so fast,” he said. The Reeth crew was assisted by firefighters from Colburn and Richmond, including the specialist swift water rescue team.

Flood water seeped into buildings belonging to Dales Mountain Biking, in Fremington, near Reeth.

Owner Stuart Price said the centre had been built to withstand flooding, however it had still suffered some damage.

He said: “It’s a bit of a mess and the clean-up operation is under way, but it could have been a lot worse.

“It came so quickly and rose so high – it was unprecedented.”

It was initially thought that the bridge over the River Swale, in Grinton, had been damaged.

However, no structural defects were found during checks by North Yorkshire County Council highways officers yesterday and the road was reopened.

A wall near the bridge was damaged, along with a number of others in the Dales, including a stretch in Low Lane, west of Reeth.

Council officers continued checking other bridges in the area yesterday.

It was feared that the flooding would continue downstream causing damage in Boroughbridge and York, however no serious problems were reported last night.