'This time, animals died - next time it could be humans'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Sarah Reilly and her partner Pete enjoyed a quiet night in on New Year’s Eve. The couple had plans to get up early the next morning and open up the coffee shop at their new business Barrowfield Dog Park in Urmston for the first day of the new year.

The couple heard rain as they went to bed and knew the forecast, but weren’t too concerned - in an area frequently affected when flooding happens, they knew the protocols.

But at around 6:30am on New Year’s Day, they came downstairs to rapidly rising water levels like nothing they had ever seen before.

Within 15 minutes, their beloved new business was submerged - and with the water still rising fast, they knew they had to act quickly to save the horses grazing in their field. “Between half past six and seven o’clock, it just exploded,” Sarah said. ”It was everywhere.” Next door, Sarah’s business partner Laura Maher and her partner Kevin Connelly were experiencing the same. “I went out to see how far it was up the yard, then came back inside, put some clothes on, and in that time it was getting in the car,” Kevin said. “The car door was open, water was going in the car, I managed to start it. “But usually when it comes, it comes up gradually.