FLASH floods brought mayhem to the region last night as the weekend heatwave broke in spectacular fashion.

Torrential rain cut off several villages, a number of people were taken to hospital, some major roads become impassable and cars were trapped in a landslide.

In Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, cars were damaged by hailstones the size of marbles as freak weather swept across the region.

Among the worst-hit areas was the North York Moors where several villages were cut off between Helmsley, where the waters were still rising last night, and the A19 road.

At one point, the A19 was blocked three miles north of Thirsk and part of the B1257 Chopgate to Helmsley road was washed away.

North Yorkshire Police, the county fire and rescue service, and Swaledale Mountain Rescue worked with a helicopter crew from RAF Leconfield, near Hull, to reach affected villages.

Fangdale Beck burst its bank and at Hawnby, near Rievaulx, several people were evacuated from six flooded houses on the riverbank.

One man was trapped upstairs and rescue teams were trying to reach him last night.

An elderly woman in the village was airlifted to the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, having suffered a heart attack. Hawnby itself was cut off.

In Rievaulx, a woman was airlifted from the roof of her car.

The helicopter was being used across the county, including airlifting two people from a fence where they had taken refuge at Thirlby, near Thirsk.

At Carlton, near Helmsley, several cars were reported stranded after a landslide.

A number of motorcyclists who took part in a rally at Duncombe Park, Helmsley, took refuge in trees after being stranded.

Emergency services, including the Cleveland Police helicopter, were trying to rescue them last night.

Simon Parker, general manager of the Feathers hotel, in Helmsley, said: "We are absolutely full up tonight because people cannot get out of Helmsley.

"There's dead livestock being swept away."

Just before midnight Helmsley was starting to flood and at least one house had been evacuated.

The BBC's Bilsdale transmitter on the North York Moors was flooded, cutting off television for thousands of homes across the region.

Another of the badly-hit areas was the village of Felixkirk, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, where a number of homes were under several inches of water.

As the waters rose, some families moved precious items, including furniture, upstairs while some farmers moved livestock from flooded barns.

Roads and properties across County Durham were also hit, with Chester-le-Street one of the worst affected towns.

Durham Police reported standing water on a number of roads, including the town's Front Street, where several shops and the cellar and main bar of GW Horner's pub were flooded.

Portobello Road, in Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, was among those closed after severe flooding made it impossible to pass.

In Newton Aycliffe, cars were struggling to get through waters that rose to two feet in areas, including the town centre, while pet rabbits had to be rescued by firefighters from a house in Oakfields.

And on the Cobblers Hall estate, in Woodham, Newton Aycliffe, huge hailstones struck vehicles.

Resident Richard Day said: "The hailstones were the size of marbles. It was absolutely phenomenal.

"Cars in our street were damaged and I counted 76 dents in one side of our caravan and about the same on its roof."

Other areas to suffer included Ferryhill, in south Durham, and a stream at Landswood Terrace, Winlaton, near Gateshead, burst its banks.

There were also incidents of flash flooding in Washington and South Shields.

Drivers were criticised for ignoring the dangers.

A Durham Police spokes-man said: "The sudden impact and volume of water has created a hazard of standing water, but some drivers were foolish and decided to drive through the water and ended up being stranded."

Last night, the Environment Agency said that, apart from in Helmsley, the waters seemed to be receding.

Temperatures rose over the weekend to their highest of the year, but forecasters last night predicted a cooler start to the week.

Today most of England and Wales is expected to feel fresher at 23C (73.4F) to 26C (78.8F).

Later in the week it is expected to be mostly dry and warm, with temperatures increasing again towards Thursday. But northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are expecting unsettled weather with the risk of rain.