THE worst rains "in 1000 years" have turned streets in the United Kingdom and Ireland into rivers, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of homes in dozens of towns.

In Cumbria, bridges collapsed and main streets lay more than two metres under water as 314.4mm of rain fell in 24 hours.

Policeman Bill Barker, 44, drowned after falling into a swollen river when the bridge he was standing on over River Derwent collapsed. The father of four, who would have celebrated his 45th birthday today, had been directing motorists to safety at the time. People watched in horror as the bridge began to crack and suddenly disappeared below the waves.

The Environment Agency said that the flooding across the region was so severe that such an event was likely to happen only once in 1000 years.



The rainfall, on already saturated terrain, was the highest level measured in England since records began. The rain was being driven by gales, some recorded as 160km/h. Cockermouth, in Cumbria, was worst hit by the storm, with 1000 homes under water and 200 evacuated.

"The centre of Cockermouth looks like it has been completely destroyed - I've never seen anything like it," Red Cross worker Ian Rideout said on the "biblical" deluge. "The water has caused so much damage that many of the homes here are completely ruined."

The situation is expected to get worse with further torrential rain expected to hit the region over the next 48 hours.

Last night, hundreds of flood warnings remained in place across the North West of England, parts of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland.

People were still being rescued as rivers continued to swell about the Lakes District area.

"I am deeply concerned and saddened by the dreadful flooding across Britain," the Queen said yesterday as she offered sympathy to those hit by the "devastating" floods, including Constable Barker's family.

The damage bill in England alone is expected to be at least A$200 million.

In Ireland, Environment Minister John Gormley declared parts of his country a disaster with Cork, Clare and Galway hardest hit. Soldiers in trucks and flat bottom boats have been deployed to rescue people stranded in homes or in their cars. Major freeways have been cut, stranding many motorists trying to flee their homes about the south-west.

"These are some of the worst floods we have seen in many parts of the country in living memory and our priority must be to help those people whose lives and livelihoods have been so badly hit by these events," he said.

A hospital had to be evacuated in Cork as a wall collapsed and the Lee River burst its banks.