A woman was killed after being swept away by floods yesterday as areas of the north were lashed by record rainfall.

A body was recovered from the River Derwent at Darley Dale in Derbyshire at 10.40am after a search using drones. The victim is believed to have gone into the water at Rowsley, two miles away.

Sheffield and Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, were the worst hit as the River Don burst its banks after a month of rain fell in one day, trapping people in shopping centres, deluging homes and forcing hundreds of people to flee. The Environment Agency warned people to stay away from swollen rivers and six severe “danger to life” warnings were in place on the Don.

Railway lines were also closed,