Freak flooding sent rivers of water into Jewish homes and businesses in Manchester on Sunday afternoon, one of only a few areas to be hit in the region following a two-hour deluge.

Prestwich based Hannah Cropper, 66, returned from holiday to find fire crews pumping two-feet of flood waters from her home. “The house is still squelchy. The lights are working, but I have no other electricity,” she said.
Her neighbour Sam Reuben, 76, said he began to panic when his daughter’s Fiat Punto was almost submerged in a four-foot surge which swept down the road.“The water came into the kitchen, but there was no major damage.”

Greater Manchester fire crews logged 14 almost simultaneous calls from the same street, Carr Avenue, and a road partially collapsed in Whitefield. Jewish businesses on Prestwich’s Bury New Road were flooded after the main thoroughfare turned into a river.

Father-of-six Gershon Morris reported thousands of pounds of damage to computers at his Prestwich workshop, Laser Know How. “I am waiting for equipment to dry out to see if it will be useable,” he said.
The Royal Bake bakery required firemen to pump several feet of water from its basement. “We had electrical damage and the kitchens were flooded, but we got baking again on Sunday night,” said manager David Grunfeld.