A HUGE clean-up operation was under way last night across much of Britain after severe flooding forced thousands of people from their homes and claimed the lives of three people.
The cost of the clean-up was already expected to run into hundreds of millions of pounds and forecasters were warning that much of the country could be hit by more heavy rain this weekend.
Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes overnight in South Yorkshire after Rotherham Council said there was a "significant risk" the dam at Ulley Reservoir could burst.
Engineers who have been battling all day to stop the dam collapsing said the situation was now "critical but stable".
Three people are reported to have died so far as a result of the "unprecedented" downpours in the Yorkshire area, including a teenager, a 28-year-old man and a 68-year-old man.
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