WITH so much rain falling and nowhere for it to go, floods are rarely out of the news.

Last week heavy rain flooded the railway between Horsforth and Harrogate, blocking the line.

River levels can rise quickly and spill out onto the surrounding land. With the ground already saturated, it forms giant lakes, as we are witnessing at the moment.

In homes across the country, sandbags are seen by many as a necessary item to store in your garage or shed. Here, residents are trying to protect their homes by building a wall of sandbags on the appropriately-named Water Street in Earby near Skipton, in 2008.

Let's hope for a spell of warm weather to nudge us into spring - it will be a relief all round, but as we know, rain is always around the corner.