A flood alert and a flood warning are currently in place across the Harrogate district.

The Environment Agency this morning (January 23) issued a flood alert for the Lower River Ure. 

It said rising river levels this afternoon could lead to flooding. Low-lying land areas and roads around Masham, Boroughbridge, Aldborough and Bishop Monkton are most likely to be affected.

The agency said it is monitoring the situation and advised people to avoid "low-lying footpaths and any bridges near local watercourses". 

Flood alerts were also issued for the Upper River Nidd, Middle River Nidd and Lower River Nidd catchments last night, but no updates had been provided at the time of publication. 

River Nidd at Hunsingore

The Environment Agency also issued a flood warning for the River Nidd at Hunsingore this morning.

It said high river levels are causing flooding, which is expected specifically at The Old Cornmill. 

At the time of writing, the River Nidd at Hunsingore level was 2.03 metres – property flooding is possible when it passes 1.6 metres.

The Environment Agency added:

A flood warning was also issued for Swinney Beck in Masham last night, which said flooding was expected overnight. 

In an update this morning, the Environment Agency said the level at Swinney Beck is currently 0.39 metres - property flooding is possible when it passes 0.6 metres. 

Driver rescued from floodwater

Meanwhile, Harrogate and Acomb firefighters rescued a car that became stuck in floodwater at Cattal at 6.43am this morning.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service told the Stray Ferret crews “rolled the vehicle out of the water with the occupant still inside”.

There were no reports of injuries and the driver waited for the AA to recover the vehicle.

North Yorkshire Highways has been informed of the incident and is going to “assess the road condition”.