:00:29. > :00:31.Hundreds of people have been evacuated from their homes
:00:32. > :00:33.and thousands are without power tonight after widespread flooding
:00:34. > :00:37.In total more than 350 flood warnings and alerts are currently
:00:38. > :00:39.in force across England, Scotland and Wales.
:00:40. > :00:41.But it's parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire that have
:00:42. > :00:44.22 severe warnings, meaning there's a danger to life,
:00:45. > :00:47.are in place there, including five in Leeds city centre.
:00:48. > :00:51.In Lancashire it's thought every river is now at record levels.
:00:52. > :00:53.Some of the worst flooding is in Ribchester and Whalley
:00:54. > :00:56.with more heavy rain to come in the next few hours.
:00:57. > :01:06.Our correspondent Judith Moritz is in Ribchester.
:01:07. > :01:14.It had been predicted that this latest bout of flooding may hit
:01:15. > :01:18.Cumbria. In the event, it has been Lancashire, west Yorkshire, and the
:01:19. > :01:22.cities of Greater Manchester and Leeds, which seem to have been at
:01:23. > :01:28.greatest risk and most badly affected. Tonight there are flood
:01:29. > :01:32.warnings in place and the rain continues to fall. In Ribchester,
:01:33. > :01:34.they've spent all day trying to keep the water here at bay.
:01:35. > :01:37.This is what happens when the rain just won't stop.
:01:38. > :01:39.Across the north of England, towns and villages lie
:01:40. > :01:48.At this pub in Ribchester, they served
:01:49. > :01:53.Today there was no chance of a Boxing Day meal.
:01:54. > :01:58.As the water came in, the staff tried to bail it out.
:01:59. > :02:06.The water levels are rising as we stand here now so it's
:02:07. > :02:08.quite high, up to about two foot at the moment.
:02:09. > :02:16.You cannot do anything in there today.
:02:17. > :02:18.We are just waiting for the level to drop.
:02:19. > :02:20.These flood defences were put in by the Army yesterday
:02:21. > :02:23.Ribchester was cut off this morning, and with
:02:24. > :02:27.the water rising, pumps and sandbags were brought in to keep it at bay.
:02:28. > :02:32.The extraordinary levels we've seen, the record-breaking river levels now
:02:33. > :02:34.across Lancashire has just overwhelmed even the temporary
:02:35. > :02:39.Every house we can keep dry is important
:02:40. > :02:43.and we will always try to do that but the levels we have seen today
:02:44. > :02:45.right across the north of England are meaning we are seeing
:02:46. > :02:55.Fire crews went out in boats to help rescue those who were cut off.
:02:56. > :03:12.At seven o'clock this morning the water
:03:13. > :03:16.started coming up and over the past few hours it has just come up and up
:03:17. > :03:20.We were doing quite a good job for an
:03:21. > :03:24.It has come up quite quickly, it's probably about two feet
:03:25. > :03:28.In Greater Manchester the power of the storm is best shown by what's
:03:29. > :03:30.happened to this 200-year-old building, the former pub sits
:03:31. > :03:34.As the rain came down and the river raged,
:03:35. > :03:35.it collapsed, crumbling into the water.
:03:36. > :03:40.In Rochdale, this river surged through the town centre, flooding
:03:41. > :03:49.dozens of businesses and cutting off power to thousands of homes. In West
:03:50. > :03:56.Yorkshire, Sowerby Bridge is among several times to have been flooded.
:03:57. > :04:01.Cars are now roofed deep. In Manchester city centre an unusual
:04:02. > :04:06.sight, this river racing at speed, crashing past balconies and beer
:04:07. > :04:12.gardens. The rain has continued all day, and as it falls, the anxiety
:04:13. > :04:16.levels are rising as fast as the water. Those in the middle of all of
:04:17. > :04:20.this feel as though there is no end in sight.
:04:21. > :04:36.We will get more from Judith in a moment, but first to fill in Sowerby
:04:37. > :04:40.Bridge. Extraordinary pictures, what's the picture tonight? This
:04:41. > :04:43.carries a pipeline behind me, and within that steelwork you can see
:04:44. > :04:50.all sorts of debris which has been caught up in it, drawn down by the
:04:51. > :04:54.sheer weight and force of the water. There is plenty more to come down
:04:55. > :04:58.tonight, we are expecting another peak at around midnight tonight.
:04:59. > :05:05.Further upstream in the centre of town, the boss has become stranded
:05:06. > :05:11.blocking the 858 to Lancashire. Downstream, as Judith mentioned,
:05:12. > :05:16.around the Royal armouries in number of properties are underwater there
:05:17. > :05:23.due to the river air bursting its banks. There's people all along the
:05:24. > :05:27.Calder Valley, sandbagging and preparing tonight, they will be
:05:28. > :05:32.hoping for the rain not to continue, and for the river levels to go down,
:05:33. > :05:34.but I think it is a waiting game. They are watching and waiting but
:05:35. > :05:37.hoping simply for the best. Judith, towns been cut off,
:05:38. > :05:39.fire service having to rescue people, and there's more
:05:40. > :05:50.rain to come tonight? It doesn't sound like the worst is
:05:51. > :05:55.over? Not at all, and as we speak it is coming down continually here and
:05:56. > :06:00.forcefully. They are still pumping out. They say they expect the rain
:06:01. > :06:04.to peak at around midnight tonight, just as in Sowerby Bridge. Tomorrow
:06:05. > :06:09.they think will be drier but don't underestimate the effects of a
:06:10. > :06:13.knock-on water, which will come down from the hills, then going forward
:06:14. > :06:18.is concerned there could be more rain further into the week. Tonight
:06:19. > :06:22.I should add as well we have had a warning from the Fire and Rescue
:06:23. > :06:29.Service to people who are told to evacuate their homes. They say, if
:06:30. > :06:33.you are told to get out, get out, because if we have got to come back
:06:34. > :06:37.to get you you are not only putting your own lives at risk but also the
:06:38. > :06:38.lives of the rescue workers. Thank you.
:06:39. > :06:41.Millions of people have hit the shops for the Boxing Day sales,
:06:42. > :06:43.with some queuing from early this morning.
:06:44. > :06:45.Despite some retailers starting online discounts on Christmas Eve
:06:46. > :06:47.there's predictions of record trading, with one London department
:06:48. > :06:50.store taking ?2 million in its opening hour.
:06:51. > :06:55.Our business correspondent Joe Lynam has more.
:06:56. > :07:05.The shoppers go up and the shoppers pile in. It's been happening all
:07:06. > :07:09.over the UK today, bargain hunters on the prowl. It's been a Christmas
:07:10. > :07:15.to remember for consumers who have been enjoying discounts of up to 50%
:07:16. > :07:24.for a month. I got a couple of handbags and a couple of jumpers,
:07:25. > :07:28.but nothing I needed. We've got some shoes, perfume, so yeah. It's crazy
:07:29. > :07:33.in there, up to 70% off on some lines so it's getting violent at
:07:34. > :07:40.times. Sentiment could be described as open down over the last seven or
:07:41. > :07:44.eight years, as costs went up and incomes stage stagnant but that's
:07:45. > :07:48.all changed now. Income is rising and the cost of filling your car and
:07:49. > :07:53.heating your home has gone down, and as a result the consumer has more
:07:54. > :07:58.money to spend. In places like this they are spending it. In the days
:07:59. > :08:03.immediately after Christmas, an estimated ?3.7 billion will be spent
:08:04. > :08:14.in the shops and online, up by 6% last year. Today an estimated ?856
:08:15. > :08:18.million could be spent on mine alone, 22% more than it was last
:08:19. > :08:22.year. The surge in online via -- buying means traditional retailers
:08:23. > :08:27.have had to raise their game. The shops have got all of their
:08:28. > :08:31.merchandise on display. Sometimes, and I found this yesterday looking
:08:32. > :08:36.online, it is difficult to see what's available. The more sedentary
:08:37. > :08:39.online shopper may be on the descent, but for physical shoppers
:08:40. > :08:40.grabbing your bargain just cannot be beaten.
:08:41. > :08:43.Football now and Premier League leaders Leicester City were beaten
:08:44. > :08:45.1-0 by Liverpool while Manchester City and Tottenham both
:08:46. > :08:47.won their matches to close the gap at the top.
:08:48. > :08:50.Manchester United's manager, Louis Van Gaal, is under even more
:08:51. > :08:53.pressure after their fourth defeat in a row, this time to Stoke City.
:08:54. > :09:00.What must it be to be Louis van Gaal right now?
:09:01. > :09:02.Having walked out of a press conference in the week,
:09:03. > :09:05.he found his face on the back of tabloids and the front of turkeys.
:09:06. > :09:08.His authority is questioned, though he continues to use it,
:09:09. > :09:13.The problem with was with those he sent out there.
:09:14. > :09:16.Memphis Depay lost his bearings for a second, that's all it
:09:17. > :09:22.A trip to the Potteries isn't what you need when feeling fragile,
:09:23. > :09:24.Stoke have the players to take the game beyond you
:09:25. > :09:31.Van Gaal sent his captain on for the second half but any
:09:32. > :09:34.United flickers were snuffed out by the fingers of Jack Butland.
:09:35. > :09:37.After four losses in a row, Van Gaal probably didn't
:09:38. > :09:42.We have lost today so there's a new situation, but I feel
:09:43. > :09:48.the support of my players and I feel the support of my board.
:09:49. > :09:51.The strength and depth of that support is about to
:09:52. > :10:00.We'll be back with all the latest at 10pm.
:10:01. > :10:04.Now on BBC One its time for the news where you are.