Elgin team help Scottish flood victims

Body found in search for missing police officer

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SAVING THE DAY: A lifeboat in Cockermouth, Cumbria.

EMERGENCY: Fire and rescue workers were deployed in Keswick, as roads flooded after a river burst its banks.

WASHED AWAY: Northside Bridge, where Pc Bill Barker was last seen before it collapsed.

ALERT: Residents in Cockermouth, Cumbria, being rescued by members of the RNLI.

RESCUE: Residents moved to safety on High Street in Cockermouth, Cumbria.

SAFE: An RAF Sea King winches a person from a roof after the floods.

A BODY was found today in the hunt for a missing police officer who disappeared after a bridge collapsed in the floods.

The flooding which has hit northern England and parts of Scotland – described as being of “biblical proportions” – has seen hundreds of people evacuated.

And a flood response team from Elgin was drafted in today after the terrible floods.

The six-strong crew were called in as the Whitesands area of Dumfries was closed due to the deluge.

Four bridges collapsed, main roads were blocked, schools closed and more than 200 people were forced to leave their homes in Cockermouth overnight after the deluge struck.

The Environment Agency had six severe flood warnings in place – all in Cumbria – 29 flood warnings and 65 less serious flood watches.

Cumbria Assistant Chief Constable Jerry Graham announced that an unidentified body was found on a beach.

Missing Pc Bill Barker, 45, had been directing motorists away from Northside bridge in Workington, Cumbria, when he disappeared into the swollen waters of the River Derwent early today.

Mr Graham said Pc Barker was “saving lives when the tragic incident occurred”.

A major search for Pc Barker was hampered by “horrendous” weather conditions which forced hundreds of people to flee their homes.

Workington MP Tony Cunningham said the flood was “of biblical proportions“ and seen “once every 1,000 years”.

The Environment Agency recorded 12.3 inches (314.4mm) in 24 hours in Cumbria up to 12.45am – a record for England.

Gordon Brown said today the Government will provide anything needed to help during the flooding.