The big clean-up has begun in many towns in the north of England after the weekend flooding which caused untold damage and destruction.

The villages of Crosten and Todmorden were badly hit as around one month’s rainfall fell in a 24 hour period. Rivers burst their banks and around 11,000 homes and businesses in the area used extra flood prevention methods to protect their properties.

In response to the flooding the Environment Agency used extra teams of workers to check flood defences, clear river blockages and monitor levels of rivers.

In Crosten 70 homes had to be evacuated after the River Yarrow burst its banks. The landlord of the Wheatsheaf pub said.

“The water just kept coming closer and closer.

“We tried to wedge the doors as best we could but we lost the battle at about 2am and it came through the sandbags.

“I’ve lost my beer. My beer is floating. My plants have floated off down the road.”

The clean-up after the deluge is expected to take months to complete for some residents, who’ll have to rely on their insurance policies to pay for damage.

One-off cleans from a professional cleaning company can be a good idea when you are stuck for time or you have a cleaning task of mammoth proportions.