AS Craven became engulfed by floods, agencies across the district leapt into action.

A police logistics room was set up on Tuesday as the flood chaos headed for crisis level.

Officers gathered to compile reports that were coming in and collated emergency numbers for other agencies.

Shortly before 6am on Tuesday, the Environment Agency contacted the police to say that the rivers and streams in Skipton and Gargrave were at risk of flooding. The agency stepped up its emergency code at four sites, including Cononley, to Flood Warning after the district saw a month's worth of rain fall in just one night.

Rainfall statistics showed that in a 36-hour period, 96 millimetres of rain fell on Skipton. The average rainfall for the whole of August is between 70 to 80 millimetres.

Another reading, by a local weather watcher, revealed that between 6pm on Monday and 6pm on Tuesday, when the weather was at its worst, 77 millimetres of rain fell.

The torrential downpours have been blamed on Hurricane Alex which has made its way across the Atlantic.

The effects of the extra water were felt across Craven.

In Sutton, a 99-year-old woman was carried to safety after her home flooded.

And vehicles became stuck in water on the A629 between Skipton and Cross Hills, at Bolton Abbey, in Linton, and on the road between Threshfield and Cracoe.

There was further traffic chaos in Glusburn when a field wall collapsed near the Dog and Gun pub. Problems also occurred in Cononley when water flooded down from the beck on to the level crossing. This meant that trains had to be delayed, resulting in knock-on delays for rail travellers throughout the morning.

Sharon Hudson, from Craven District Council, said that the council had been on standby mode waiting to assist with any emergencies such as with transport for evacuations.

An emergency control room was set up for flood reports and was manned by personnel from the council and Craven Housing.

During Tuesday 30 council workers and Craven Housing staff went out into the district distributing between 1,500 and 2,000 sandbags.

Richard Marr, divisional engineer for North Yorkshire County Council, said that highways personnel had been out in the area building up banks of sandbags and closing off roads that had become impassable.

He said: "The main problem has been the sheer volume of water. The drains are designed to be a certain size and capacity."

Meanwhile flash floods in Earby forced many residents out of their homes.

Businesses and houses were ruined as torrential rain caused water levels to rise to record levels.

Fire crews were called out to the town around 8.30am to what residents say were the worst floods since 1965.

Water Street and Victoria Road were the worst affected areas, with water reaching thigh-high.