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Rugby player Kevin Sinfield has been pictured helping out after Boxing Day floods devastated homes in the north of England.

The BBC Sports Personality of the Year runner up was snapped near his brother Ian’s home in Saddleworth, near OIdham, after more than two inches of rain fell in a few hours in some areas of the borough.

He was seen lugging sandbags in a wheelbarrow as residents tried desperately to fight the rising water.

The River Tame, which weaves through the centre of hillside villages on the Oldham border, burst its banks on Saturday, causing severe flooding.

Parts of Delph, Uppermill, Greenfield and Grotton were badly affected by the rain, with roads to other villages shut off.

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(Image: Niall Carson/PA Wire)

In Grotton, families around Coverhill Road built a sandbag barricade across the entrance to Chimes Court to divert water from their homes.

Former rugby league player Ian Sinfield, who lives on the road with his wife and two sons, was helped out by brother Kevin, the Manchester Evening News reported.

He said: “It’s been unbelievable. When I woke up our garden had already flooded and the rain was still falling. It didn’t take long for the road to be completely underwater. It was about two foot deep, probably more in some parts.”

Sinfield became the first rugby league player to be nominated for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, finishing in second place behind Andy Murray, earlier this month.

After captaining Leeds Rhinos in the Super League for nearly two decades, he made the switch to rugby union to play for Yorkshire Carnegie earlier this year.