My SIL rang at about 3pm, said she’d had a flood warning and asked my OH if he’d go and give her a hand shifting stuff upstairs.

She’s only a couple of miles away from us and quite close to Manchester city centre.

There was just a trickle of water running down the road when he got there and half an hour later it was so deep that he couldn’t drive back; now the water is in the house and they are trapped upstairs.

It all happened so quickly.

They can hear police sirens and a helicopter, but nobody has been to help yet.

All around me there are reports of explosions and sink holes appearing nearby on the M62.

Where I am it’s quite high up and everyone is partying and I’m so worried I don’t know what to do with myself, it’s quite surreal.