06/12/2015 BBC Weekend News

Torrential rain has caused havoc across large parts

of Northern England and Scotland, flooding homes and leaving tens

Much of the city of Carlisle is under water.

One power station is out of action, and a second is under threat.

Hundreds have been rescued from their homes

We were told that it was going to be, after these defences, it was a

once in a 250 year event, and here we are ten years later.

The main west coast rail line is under water,

and major roads are closed, after many flood defences failed.

Questions will be asked if everyone has got ready, if

the authorities are prepared for the scale flooding we're seeing now.

We'll have the latest from the worst affected areas.

Counter terrorism police are investigating the knife attack

at a London tube station, which left one man seriously injured.

And Newcastle take on Liverpool at home, as they try to end their run

"Extreme and unprecedented" is how the Government has described the

torrential rainfall that's caused severe flooding, leaving hundreds

of homes submerged across Northern England and parts of Scotland.

The Army's been called in to evacuate people in Cumbria

and the Scottish Borders, where some flood defences were

Tonight around 60,000 homes are without power, after flooding

A second in Carlisle, is also under threat.

There are no trains running between England and Scotland

through Preston, while road restrictions are in place

And dozens of severe flood warnings are still in place,

The city of Carlisle is one of worst affected areas.

From there, Danny Savage has the latest.

Across a huge swathe of northwest England there is little

A deluge of rain overwhelmed streams and rivers, engulfing towns,

Every major flood over the last decade in Cumbria has just

In Carlisle, hundreds of homes have been washed out.

Houses which have all been repaired in the past are ruined again.

This is the A69 heading out of the city.

The water came up so quickly last night, cars couldn't be moved,

Can you unlock, we will come in and have a chat.

So we have come down Warwick Road with this lifeboat crew who are

normally based in Weston-Super-Mare and south Wales, and they've

literally been hailed down by the people here in the upstairs

Ron and Denise Wood were flooded ten years ago.

We were told that it was going to be, after these defences,

it was a once in a 250 year event, and here we are ten years later.

I feel like we've been fed a bit of false information.

At the top of the road another resident watched

The sun may have been shining but the water was still rising.

I think it would be unfair to blame the Environment Agency for this,

It is one of those things that happens.

Maybe the flood defences held it back for a while

I don't know how high you can build a wall, really.

Some of these houses still have power

upstairs, but a local substation is at risk, and 60,000 customers

55,000 homes have been left without power already across the region,

Over the border in Scotland, Hawick was badly hit, too.

Roads were washed away and the sandbags were brought out.

In more remote areas, rescue helicopters were deployed.

This family was winched off a roof in Cumbria.

The water level is dropping in Keswick but not before people's

About a week ago we had a massive windy storm that blew a lot

of trees over, a lot of them had gone into the river, and when the

river came up they are just missiles.

I'm sure there will be structural damage as a result of that.

The flood was massive and it was effectively armed.

For now the main task is still about rescuing people, with the

A huge recovery effort to deal with multiple locations destroyed

The Environment Agency says some flood defences simply couldn't

Almost 14 inches is believed to have fallen in the Lake District

in 24 hours, and that would be a new British record.

Millions of pounds has been spent on Carlisle's defences,

Our Science Editor David Shukman took to the sky,

The skies above Cumbria have cleared but the

I'm above the city of Carlisle and the sheer scale and depth

Most striking, the impact on residential streets.

The floodwaters not only rising above ground level,

also reaching towards the first story of many people's homes.

And it's easy to pick out the rescue effort that's underway.

The boats, operated by the rescue services,

But at the same time this is a city that's almost been paralysed.

We've seen how the main West Coast rail line running through Carlisle

Major roads running into the city are also closed under flood water.

But one of the big worries, as ever with flooding, is floodwater getting

So we can see people working here on the edge of Carlisle,

trying to make sure that this substation isn't put out of action.

And then beyond Carlisle, well, there's devastation in dozens

Major highways, where heavy rains have torn away the hillside, sending

Rock falls and in one case the water eroding the road itself.

It's going to take days, weeks or even months to get through

this, and there will be questions asked as well.

Just five years ago it received a ?38 million flood defence scheme.

No one guaranteed there wouldn't be flooding again.

Questions will be asked about whether the authorities were ready

for the sheer scale of the kind of rain storms we are seeing now.

And David Shukman joins us now from Carlisle.

Bring us up to date with the latest where you are. The situation is

obviously still very critical. While I've been standing here residents

have been helped out of their homes from this flooded street behind me.

There are fears that power cuts during the night, the temperature

has dropped. This is very much a city of crisis and it comes at a

difficult time. It is winter and this is a place that has been

repeatedly flooded. People are really wondering when this crisis

will end. And it's clear some flood defences were simply not up to the

job despite millions of pounds of investment. That's a very difficult

question, and many people are shocked by it here. They did expect

to be better protected after that massive investment five years ago,

?38 million on new flood defences. At the time nobody said they could

guarantee no more flooding, but people did expect they would be a

bit safer. There will be a lot of difficult and searching questions

about that. Floods minister himself has now said he will be looking at

flood schemes across Cumbria to assess them. Whether there will be

more money, whether the government will divvy up to improve flood

defences is always a difficult question because the blunt truth is

you can't protect everywhere all of the time. David, many thanks.

And you can get more detail on the flooding, and advice

for your area, on our live page which is at bbc.co.uk/news

Counter-terrorism police are investigating a knife attack

on the London Underground, in which the suspect is said to have

It happened at Leytonstone tube station last night.

One man suffered serious stab wounds, but is

The suspect, who's 29, was later tasered, and arrested.

Our Home Affairs Correspondent June Kelly has more.

7pm on a Saturday evening, and dozens

of travellers are confronted by a man wielding a knife.

After reportedly shouting this is the Syria, used it on to members of

the public. Captured on mobile phone footage, people shouting at the man

to lay down his weapon. Drop it, youthful, drop it! The police

dealing with this were local offices, none had a firearm. They

used a Taser stun gun on the subject. It took more than one

attempt to overpower him. From one onlooker was a strong message. You

ain't no Muslim, Bruv! And there was a statement from a nearby mosque. We

are extremely saddened by this incident. This was an individual we

do not know, he is not a member of the congregation of Leytonstone

mosque. We strongly condemn any sort of violent act or terrorism. Islam

does not allow or have any place for violence or terrorism. During the

day Leytonstone tube stationery opened, and details emerged of how

one victim was said to be stabbed in the neck, was beaten and kicked

beforehand. It was very scary. There was no way anyone would go near him

because he was a very strong man. And he was punching like a boxer.

Within hours of the attack, Scotland Yard had said it was being treated

as a terrorist incident and appealed for any mobile phone footage. We are

pursuing a number of lines of enquiry at the moment but at this

particular stage and this time, motive is not that clear, so we want

to get some additional evidence. Knowing exactly what happened

precisely in the attack itself. 24 hours after the mayhem here,

detectives will be working to establish the background of their

suspect. His beliefs, his associates, his mental state. And

underlying all this will be the fundamental question of whether they

knew about him before the attack and if they did, how much? This evening

there is heavy police activity at this address in Leytonstone.

Forensics officers are at the property. Fans have been arriving

and there are signs of a forced entry. June Kelly, BBC News in

Leytonstone. Foreign patients who visit England

could face charges for some NHS services, such as blood tests,

prescriptions and physiotherapy. The government wants to extend

the charges paid by visitors from outside the European Union, and will

begin a consultation next week. Doctors' leaders say they're

concerned about the proposals. France is voting

in the opening round of regional elections, in the first major test

of public opinion since the terror A state of emergency is still

in force across the country, Right of centre parties have been

calling for tougher security measures.

Our Paris Correspondent Lucy Williamson reports.

Underneath the smiles and handshakes, France's president

Three weeks after the attacks in Paris, the nation is issuing

These are regional elections, but also a chance for voters to voice

their views on how the government is handling national issues

like immigration, unemployment and security in France.

There are important regional issues this time,

but I think that national politics are going to dominate yet again.

Probably less in Paris than elsewhere

Here in Paris polling stations have opened near the memorials that

Some are predicting that new fears around terrorism

and older ones around migration could shifts votes to the right.

One woman says she had warned of the threat.

Marine Le Pen, leader of the far right Front National.

Her party has made steady gains over the past two years.

A win here would give the party its first taste of region power.

Important if it is to prove it can govern more than a town hall.

Today's vote is the last electoral test before

France chooses a new president in less than 18 months' time.

And amid the clamour of the individual gains

and losses here, these results will be carefully watched

for confirmation that the two main parties here have now become three.

There was one Premier League match today, struggling Newcastle beat a

lacklustre Liverpool at St James' Park in only their third win of the

season. With sporting success comes self

belief, Newcastle of late seem to have little of either. Some contrast

with a Liverpool team for whom both are growing. The Reds are rapidly

rising, not unlike this effort from Christian Benteke, an early chance

to further vacuum around St James' Park. One thing really lacking there

is passion and pride. But had Chancel Mbemba done better here, the

mood at half-time could have been rather better. Particularly for

those like Steve McClaren, whose immediate Newcastle future may well

depend on finding somebody from somewhere. What his side did get was

a stroke of good fortune. Judging you which now than's shot finding

its way in via a defender but to the relief of many, and the delight of

at least one. Liverpool will feel at least a little aggrieved that

Alberto Moreno's volley was ruled offside. It should have given them

the equaliser. Ultimately it would not have altered the result. Which

now than again providing a valuable Newcastle win, if only to bring back

some self belief. Millions

of advent calendars mark the You can of course make your own,

or buy them filled with chocolate, But now a new type of advent

calendar exported from Sweden, is It's a living calendar, as Duncan

Kennedy explains from Winchester. And a new one when it comes

to celebrating Christmas. Real advent doors are being

swung open everywhere. But inside, instead of chocolate,

it's Christmas performances. Every kind of door across the city

is being used, with everything from sugarplum fairies in front rooms to

memories of Christmas underground The live advent calendar concept is

a way of the city coming together to share in collective activity over

this really special time of year. Advent calendars first appeared

in Germany around 1850. They were made of wood and usually

depicted scenes from the Bible. The first live advent calendars

using real wood doors seem to have started in Sweden

about ten years ago. Now

the idea has come here with places from Cornwall to Cumbria joining

in this new festive phenomenon. It is different because you actually

go into the door, It's not often Christmas gets

a noncommercial new twist. Here behind

the city's doors they are really Duncan Kennedy,

BBC News in Winchester. More throughout the evening

on the BBC News Channel, and I'll be