TORRENTIAL rain caused mayhem and flooding at the weekend and lead to several major events being cancelled.

Worst hit was Redcar and East Cleveland, and in particular the village of Skinningrove which saw the waters reach between waist and neck deep when the village beck burst its banks.

Teesside Steel Family Gala, due to be held at the Kirkleatham Showground on Sunday, was cancelled, as was the family fun Medieval Day to be held at the Kirkleatham Old Hall Museum nearby.

Organiser Dave Adamson said he was bitterly disappointed: "The ground was in such bad condition and the car park was so soft the cars would just have sink in.

"It was very disappointing because we had put a lot of work in for nothing but we had no control over the elements. It was not a decision we took lightly."

As the flood waters rose, roads were closed throughout Redcar and East Cleveland and villages in the area were badly hit. A spokesman for Cleveland Fire Brigade said firefighters dealt with more than 90 incidents in East Cleveland.

A spokesman for Cleveland Police said people were evacuated from their homes in Skinningrove and coastguards and lifeboat crews were put on stand-by as the beck blocked and then burst. He said there was 'great concern' for Skinningrove and that the village was seriously flooded.

"It is not what you expect in July but it has been an unbelievable deluge," he said.

Dave Cammish, from Redcar Lifeboat, said the lifeboats were put on standby because the water was neck deep. He said the fire brigade and lifeboats had rescued one elderly woman trapped in a car.

Redcar and Cleveland Council set up an emergency centre in James Finegan Hall at Eston with a rest centre at Rosecroft School in Loftus and a mini rest centre at Timms Coffee House in Skinningrove