BUSINESSES were flooded, suffering tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage, and roads were blocked after Tynedale was hit by heavy and persistent rain at the weekend.

Otterburn was badly affected after the River Rede burst its banks, with the Otterburn Mill shop suffering around £50,000 worth of damage after the premises were flooded and clothing damaged.

Louise Shaw, of Otterburn Mill, said: “The shop has been under about two feet of water, with a big clean up operation under way. We had the fire brigade here on Saturday pumping the water out but it’s going to take time until we’re back to normal again.”

The mill shop has temporarily relocated upstairs while the downstairs is repaired, and this weekend they will hold a sale where they will sell the affected stock at a discount, helping them to recoup some of the money they will lose.

The flooding in Otterburn followed an Environment Agency flood warning which was issued at the end of last week. The agency said two homes in Otterburn and four in West Woodburn suffered surface water flooding.

Gordon Moore, who owns the Border Reiver Shop and Cafe in Otterburn, said: “We were very fortunate. We did have some water get into the premises but thankfully we kept on top of it.

“The big worry was whether the bridge (over the Otter Burn) was going to be saved due to the rising water levels. A lot of people said the flooding was nothing like they had ever seen before.”

The Bay Horse Inn pub in West Woodburn was also flooded. Pub owner Hilda Wright added: “The whole pub and kitchen area was flooded apart from the bar area and we’ve had to strip all the carpets off the floors.

“We don’t know the cost of the damage yet but we were able to reopen again by Sunday afternoon. I’ve never seen flooding this bad here before.”

The Met Office had weather warnings in place throughout the weekend, and Northumbria Police had to step in to warn people not to drive in some rural areas.

Fire crews from Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service were called to Humbles Wood in Prudhoe after persistent and heavy rain caused flash flooding on Beechwood Drive which meant vehicles could not travel through, and fire crews had to pump water away from the area.

The area of Station Road near to the Adam and Eve pub also suffered from flash flooding.

Jim Richardson, one of the owners of Diandjims Fun Station on Station Road, said the heavy flooding meant cars couldn’t pass through and one car became stuck.

“People came in early on Friday morning and then it rained heavily and they couldn’t get out,” he said.

“But we didn’t have to close. I have to say they have done a really good job of clearing the water away quickly.”

Northumberland Fire and Rescue service said it was called to 24 flooding incidents across the county, which included High House Cottages in Matfen, St Mary’s Wynd in Hexham, North Road in Haydon Bridge, a field in Ovingham and the Military Road at East Wallhouses.

Hexham’s MP Guy Opperman said he had visited eight places in the Tyne Valley which had been affected by flooding at the start of this week. He made visits to Haydon Bridge, Hexham, Warden, Corbridge, West Woodburn, Bellingham, Otterburn and Prudhoe.

He said: “There’s no doubt that the community, particularly in Tynedale, is way more prepared as a result of Storm Desmond than they ever were before and the impact of the joint working between the Environment Agency, the local authority, Northumbrian Water and the emergency services has clearly born fruit. This is the reason we have a flood forum and and the various flood groups in the likes of Haydon Bridge and Corbridge which really allows people to work together.

“We had the whole of August rainfall in 36 hours but by and large flood defences coped really, really well.”

He added that the impact of the lowering the level of Kielder Reservoir had also been seen, with the reservoir holding all of the run off water until Monday morning.