EMERGENCY services across Teesside were bracing themselves last night for another potential onslaught of flood-related calls.

Cleveland Fire Brigade attended more than 100 flood calls, from 1am to noon yesterday, as homes flooded, roads blocked and rivers were placed on alert across the area.

The situation improved during the day, but the Environment Agency was warning that there could be more rain on high ground.

East Cleveland was among the worst affected areas with homes flooded in Guisborough, Grangetown Eston and Normanby. Locke Park, in Redcar, was closed and the public were advised to stay away from Saltburn Valley Gardens. Grangetown fire station was flooded, but there were no difficulties getting engines out.

Elsewhere, the Environment Agency placed flood warnings at Lustrum Beck in Oxbridge, Stockton, and at Leven Bridge, near Yarm. Sandbags were placed by nearby properties and the river and stream levels monitored.

Homerton Road, in Middlesbrough, and Bolckow Road, Grangetown, which was under 3ft of water, were closed. There were also other problems on the A19 southbound near Acklam, the A171 Whitby-to-Guisborough road and Marske Road, Saltburn. The Whitby-to-Middlesbrough railway line was also flooded.

A fire brigade spokesman said: "It started to build up from about 1am, but by six o'clock we were totally stretched with a number of extreme flooding incidents."

Flooding at Skinningrove was kept to minimum compared with disastrous floods in previous years as new defences held.

Councillor Dave McLuckie, Redcar and East Cleveland Borough Council's lead member for community safety, saw the beck flood. He said: "The residents closed the defences off but the water rose to the bridge level. However, the floating debris floated away without damming the system and everything appears to have worked as it should."