A girl who died after getting caught in a mudslide during a school trip has been named as 10-year-old Leah Harrison.
The Met Office warned that continued heavy rain could pose a danger to life after reports of a person dying in a mudslide in Carlton Bank in North Yorkshire at around 1pm yesterday.
Leah was a year six pupil at Mount Pleasant Primary School in Darlington, County Durham.
Leah was described as a ‘happy, bubbly, go-lucky little girl’ by her family, who said: ‘The beautiful smile, the giddy laugh, the silly jokes. You will never ever be forgotten baby girl.
‘You will achieve your dream and become a player for the Lionesses. Spread those wings. May you rest in paradise.’
Dozens of emergency service workers spent hours trying to save her life at the scene near the village of Carlton-in-Cleveland.
But North Yorkshire Police confirmed she had died yesterday evening.
Nick Blackburn, chief executive of the Lingfield Education Trust, said: ‘Leah was a much-loved part of our school and our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and the school staff.’
He added: ‘We are all in a state of shock and we would ask that the privacy of the family and the school community is respected while we try to come to terms with what has happened.’
North Yorkshire Police said: ‘We can confirm that one person has sadly died as a result of the incident.
‘Our thoughts are with their family and friends during this difficult time.’
Nobody else was injured in the mudslide, which came after nearly a month’s worth of rain fell in just a day, according to the Met Office.
Some 41.6mm of rain were recorded in 24 hours in Loftus, a town 20 miles away.
Simon Partridge, a forecaster at the Met Office, said: ‘The average monthly rainfall for May in North Yorkshire is 57.5mm so they’ve almost had a month’s worth of rainfall today.’
There are yellow and amber weather warnings in place across the UK today as pouring rain continues from yesterday.
The forecaster has warned travel disruption and flooding is likely, especially in areas covered by the amber warning including Manchester and Liverpool.
Carlisle in Cumbria experienced the worst of the rainfall on Wednesday, with 65.6mm falling over the previous 24 hours.
The Environment Agency has issued a severe flood warning for the rivers Roe and Ive from Highbridge to Stockdalewath, south of Carlisle. The warning says flooding will be rapid due to rapidly rising water levels.
Cumbria Police said a number of properties have been affected in the Stockdalewath area, with one property evacuated.
Chief Superintendent Mick Bird said a multi-agency co-ordination group had been set up overnight to deal with localised flooding in the area.
Yesterday, he said: ‘Emergency services have been responding throughout the night to calls for service following persistent rainfall, which has resulted in flooding in some parts of the county.
‘The flooding is on a small scale and the public can be reassured that the weather forecast is expected to be much more favourable throughout today.
‘We do expect some impact to travel within Cumbria with some flood water in parts of the county.’
A further 22 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, have been issued across England with one in Scotland.
Mr Partridge said there was still ‘quite a long way to go’ until the rain was due to stop, with wet weather expected to continue in the area until Thursday evening.
An amber warning for rain has been in place across parts of North Wales and north-west England, including Manchester and Liverpool, since midday on Wednesday.
A yellow warning for rain covers the north of England, the Midlands and north and central Wales until 6am on Thursday, while another is in place for southern and eastern Scotland until 6pm on Thursday.
Fast flowing or deep floodwater which may cause danger to life is likely, the Met Office warned.
Heavy rainfall may also cause delays and cancellations to public transport services, difficult driving conditions and power cuts, the forecaster said.
Regarding staying safe in wet weather, Mr Partridge said: ‘Although it may not look too bad when you leave home, it could turn much heavier once you’re out and about, so the best thing is to plan your trips and if you don’t need to go – the best advice is to try and avoid it.
‘Keep an eye on your local warnings from the Environment Agency which are just as important as ours as well.’
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