Floods hit 300 homes in north England Firefighters rescue stranded motorists from a flooded road outside Castleford, West Yorkshire. More than 300 homes have been flooded in the north of England in two days, as almost twice the average rainfall for September drenched the Pennine and Cheviot catchments and streamed off both sides. Boats ferried residents to safety from St Helen's in Lancashire and Morpeth in Northumberland, where defences installed after disastrous flooding in 2008 failed to contain the river Wansbeck. Swirling underground water left a block of town houses in Newcastle-upon-Tyne looking like a stilt house as earth round the foundations was swept away, and transport was devastated as parts of the M6 and the East Coast main line became temporary rivers. An old fishing village in the Footdee or "Fittie" area of Aberdeen was covered in a white foam as severe winds and rain drove a thick froth of plankton and sea-spume inland. The city council said the coating was "unusual but harmless" and its remains would be swept up by environmental teams if any were left after the persistent rain. An easing in the long downpour in the central Pennines, which turned to a dismal fine mist by mid-afternoon on Tuesday, saved the centre of Leeds and the much-flooded Calder valley town of Hebden Bridge from serious damage. Sandbags were everywhere in Hebden Bridge and pumps on standby, while emergency teams from the Environment Agency stood ready in Leeds and ran a round-the-clock clearing of drains and watercourses. The agency warned, however, that further flooding was likely in Yorkshire, the north-west and north Wales overnight before the obstinate centre of low pressure finally crept off the fells and turned its attention to the Midlands and south. The Meteorological Office warned that their turn would be on Wednesday as the weather backtracked down the course which it took over the weekend. There are currently 219 flood warnings in place. The yo-yo pattern is the result of two weather systems meeting and dumping persistent rain - a warm front from the Atlantic and a colder one drawn down from north of Scotland. Although some areas have experienced gusts of up to 70mph, the reluctance of the dismal weather to move off north and east is also due to a weaker jetstream than usual at this time of the year. The Environment Agency has notified 75,000 properties of the serious risk of flooding since Sunday, but in spite of the failure at Morpeth - whose recovery was used as a model for Cockermouth when the Cumbrian town was ravaged by floods three years ago - defences held up well at Ripon, Tadcaster, Dewsbury, Appleby-in-Westmorland and other former trouble spots. David Jordan, director of operations, said: "Our thoughts are with those whose homes have been flooded this week. Police and local authorities urged people to leave work early in much of the north-east, where many schools in Stockton-on-Tees also closed at lunchtime. Much of the flooding was as slow and relentless as the rain, but there were instances of flash flooding including a rapid rise in the river Coquet at Rothbury in Northumberland where two cars were sent careering downstream and riverside homes were evacuated. County councillor Steven Bridgett said that flood barriers installed after a much worse incident in 2008 had given people time to prepare. He said: "There has been a fantastic, co-ordinated response from everyone and the WRVS [Women's Royal Voluntary Service] are our angels looking after people who have been evacuated with tea, coffee, soup and sandwiches." Drivers were evacuated from cars on the Great North Road in Gateshead when the carriageway became awash. A wall beside the coast road along the Tyne at Wallsend was deliberately dismantled to ease the pressure of floodwater, and an emergency cordon has been placed round recently-built, three-storey town houses at Newburn in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Several were left apparently on stilts after water scoured out their foundations, which were damaged in June by a culvert bursting. Residents were evacuated after that incident but later allowed to return after repairs. The blocks now stand empty again and there are fears that they may have to be demolished. A spokesman for Newcastle city council said: "Police took the decision to evacuate after concern about the stability of a number of residential buildings, including Spencer Court, Hareside Court, Hareside Walk and Mill Vale. This follows an ongoing problem with a collapsed culvert was made worse by the heavy rainfall last night and this morning. Eight residents have been moved to the official rest centre at Newburn Leisure Centre while the council, Northumbria Police and other agencies work to alleviate the situation and asses any other potential risks. Roads throughout Newburn - and indeed the city more widely - have been severely affected by the weather and the Mill Lane road in Newburn has collapsed and been cordoned off. A search of the river Swale near Catterick army camp in North Yorkshire was called off late on Tuesday night when a yellow flotation ring, which had been mistaken for a person in the water, was recovered at Kiplin. The Met Office says that unsettled conditions will continue until next week but should be "generally much quieter" from Wednesday night.