FIRE crews were forced to pump floodwater out of Cleveland Police's new £20m headquarters building overnight after it was discovered underneath the floor in the force's server room.

The Community Safety Hub, in Hemlington, Middlesbrough, was also struck by a leaking roof yesterday amid torrential downpours.

As a precaution and due to the flood, the force's Control Room was relocated overnight before returning to its usual room this morning.

One source described how there were 'buckets being used' to catch rainwater coming through the ceiling due to a leaky roof. It is not known if the two incidents are connected.

Persistent heavy rain has fallen on Teesside for the past 48 hours – and the sheer volume took its toll on the building.

Regarding the flood, a spokesman for Cleveland Police said this morning: "At around 3.30pm on Thursday 13th June moisture sensors in Cleveland Police’s server room at the Community Safety Hub in Hemlington sounded an alert.

"On inspection flooding was found beneath the floor and the Fire Bridge was contact to assist in clearing the water. Pumping continued overnight and into Friday.

"As a precaution, the Force’s Control Room was relocated overnight to a fall back facility before returning during the day on Friday 14th June. The Force continues to actively manage the risk and there is no operational impact on policing at this time. We are returning to business as usual and the public have not been put at risk."

The state-of-the-art headquarters officially opened last summer after the force moved out of its 1970s office block on Ladgate Lane due to soaring running costs of about £1m a year.

It sold the land near Marton for almost £17.8m to help pay for the new hub.

Cleveland’s Police and Crime Commissioner Barry Coppinger is responsible for the building.

A spokeswoman from the PCC’s office said contractors had been onto the site to deal with the leak.

She added: “Due to the extreme weather conditions over the past 24 hours, we have been made aware of a leak at the Community Safety Hub.

“As is normal in these circumstances, this has been progressed with our contractors who have been on site today and will advise on how this will be rectified.”

Patching repairs are expected to be carried out by contractors today.

The Hemlington site scooped a top regional design award in April after judges said it provided “a modern day, innovative and highly energy efficient headquarters”