HOMES and businesses across the region battened down the hatches yesterday to shelter from the lashing rain - and the bad news last night was that the wet weather is set to linger over the North-East for the rest of the week.

Emergency crews in North Yorkshire, County Durham and Teesside had a busy day as flash flooding struck across the region, swamping communities and causing chaos on the roads.

Flood watches were issued on nearly every river in the region by the Environment Agency, which was monitoring water levels throughout the night.

A lorry driver was last night fighting for his life at the University Hospital of North Tees after his vehicle crashed into the back of another lorry on the A19 at the Norton turn-off near Wolviston at the height of the downpour, at about 10.30am.

The 69-year-old, from Derbyshire, was said to be a critical but stable condition.

An international air-sea search was launched after a yacht crew sent a mayday signal to coastguards on the Teesside coast as they were engulfed by the storms.

Coastguards launched lifeboats from Hartlepool and Whitby, and the search and rescue helicopter from RAF Leconfield, east Yorkshire, went in search of the two-man vessel early yesterday.

They were joined on the mission by Dutch and German rescuers, who had also picked up the distress signal.

The two seamen were able to return to safety after an oil supply vessel off Flamborough Head, north of Bridlington, spotted the boat.

Fire and rescue crews were called to deal with a further 50 flooding incidents across Teesside as heavy rain blocked drains and deluged homes through the night on Monday.

In Stockton, firefighters were called to Eaglescliffe, Egglescliffe, Hardwick, Hartburn, Bishopsgarth and Fairfield, and homes in the Owton Manor area of Hartlepool were also flooded after the sewers overflowed.

In North Yorkshire, firefighters had to rescue the occupants of five cars stuck on the B6270 near Gunnerside.

The cars became trapped between two stretches of flooded road at shortly before 1pm.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: "It was just the sheer amount of water. Crews reduced the water by breaking a wall at the side of the road."

About four cars had to be pulled from the B6479, near Hawes, when their engines were flooded as they were driven through standing water.

Photographer Kirsty Handley saw the chaos and was able to stop before being caught up in the flood.

She said: "I got out to help push three or four cars out of the deepest water. It was a good job I had my wellies. The big vehicles were okay but most of the cars that tried to pass through cut out because of the sheer volume of water."

Throughout the afternoon, firefighters were called to three houses in Colville Crescent, Colburn, near Catterick, which were flooded, as well as properties in Whitby, Haxby and Easingwold.

In Sandhutton, near Thirsk, two inches of water flooded The Kings Arms when a deluge left drains overflowing.

Landlord Andy Whitlam said: "Water started coming in and we had to sweep the place out. We just managed to save the restaurant and we had some sandbags out the back."

Brompton-on-Swale Caravan Park was on flood warning all day and, in the afternoon, caravanners were told to pack up their awnings when the alert was upgraded.

The Environment Agency warned motorists visiting York not to use the city's riverside car parks by as the River Ouse continued to rise throughout the day.

County Durham escaped relatively unscathed with only minor incidents reported.

Theatre staff acted in the best "the show must go on" tradition when their venue's cinema flooded.

They manned the mops to ensure the 125-seat screen at the Gala Theatre in Durham City, only missed one screening of the film I, Robot yesterday.

A fire crew from Bishop Auckland spent two hours pumping 60,000-litres of flood water from the boiler room at Bishop Barrington School, in the town.

And drivers travelling on the A67 at Bowes village, in Teesdale, had to use extreme caution to travel through 2ft of floodwater standing on the road surface.

* Late last night, the Met Office said the worst was most likely over, but warned of further rain for the rest of the week.