Heavy storms brought almost a week's rainfall in one hour across parts of Greater Manchester on Thursday afternoon - but there is still no sign of a hosepipe ban being lifted.
A parking warden was among those caught in the downpour in Manchester city centre during afternoon storms which included thunder and lightning.
Flooding also caused the closure of an exit slip road at junction 17 of the anticlockwise carriageway of the M60, adding to traffic problems caused by an earlier crash on the M62.
Workers at the John Rylands Library had to race from their desks armed with brushes and sandbags after rainwater threatened to flood the historic building.
They were captured by MEN photographers battling against torrential rain at the side of the building on the walkway to Manchester Magistrates, just off Deansgate.
See picture gallery (above right).
A woman member of staff was seen braving the downpour as she brushed the water away. One man had even donned his Wellington boots to fight the rising tide.
A spokesperson for the Met Office said up to 15mm had fallen in the space of an hour.
That is almost a fifth of the average rainfall for the whole month.
They added: “It was certainly enough to cause some localised flooding.”
Forecasters said the rainy conditions were expected to last another couple of days.
A hosepipe ban was introduced by United Utilities after a relatively dry start to the summer for the first time in 14 years on July 9.
Since then the weather has been consistenly wet and miserable, with only four days without any rain.
A spokesman for the firm said that reservoirs in the Lake District and North Wales had been refilling to the expected levels but added that those in the Pennine region were still running at just 54 per cent of capacity despite recent downpours.
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Maybe if all the drains worked properly then we wouldn't be having floods and all the water would be taken nicely away and put to good use and we wouldn't have a hosepipe ban.
I suppose it'll be the wrong type of rain.
who would want to use a hosepipe in this weather?
How lovely is that picture.
The warden will still be booking people, what a freak
Doesn't stop people from driving like complete and utter idiots
Welcome To Manchester
Kudos to the library staff for their commitment!
Respect for the warden, you wont see any policemen out.....
Great picture of a drowned rat
A hosepipe ban was introduced by United Utilities........Really.
I thought government departments could only issue bans and threaten legal action.
I can understand the hosepipe ban, that precious commodity we call rain should be
treated like gold dust....UU have been hard hit this year - £500,000,000 profit before tax, down from £531,000,000 last year
we're all in this together - my heart goes out to them
Hose pipe ban? You've got to be having a laugh. How many people do you see using a hose pipe to water their gardens? It's obvious to anyone who cares to open their eyes that we live in lush greenery.
The hose pipe ban has to be one of the most absurd pieces of legislation I've ever come across: It's unenforceable and people can still use watering cans.
I'd rather we see a ban on car washes. It's much better to promote horticulturalism than the cleaning of a polluting vehicle. What on earth's the point of cleaning your car every week?
United Utilities has been shown up as a laughing stock again on TV tonight. We were told that privatisation of water services would pay for modernisation. Yet they still claim that most infrastructure is Victorian. AND, they have made vast profits from selling local small reservoirs for housing developments. The fact is they no longer store water for long periods - they simply hope that the weather will meet demand. There is no slack in the system.
Funny that, 1 weeks rain in 1 hour and still moaning about the hose pipe ban. I've got a funny feeling my garden might JUST cope without being hosed down. I was worried about grass fires but with 1 weeks rain falling in 1 hour, I think the risk might be slightly reduced!
So water that goes into the drains and the sewers gets put to some good! It's actually chimps that pave over their gardens that cause flooding. And all traffic wardens are freaks. In fact, that's kind. I could call them a lot worse.
That picture is fantastic
The rain falls hard on a humdrum town.....
pity there arnt a couple of coppers keeping her company
Liverpool was lovely today - all sunny! Why does it always rain in Manchester????
I think we should all club together and save water.
Firstly, put a brick in your toilet tank
Only flush if needed (If its yellow its mellow, if its brown flush it down)
Only take a quick shower instead of a bath
only drink bottled water
Dont use a hosepipe
water your plants with rain water
Do all this and save the planet..., then think what UU are doin with their vast profits to make our lives better and think how the major share holders are spending their bonuses.
By the way just because a traffic warden has a job, doesn't make it right, they are worse than the rats with wings.
CTID
Dn't you just love that smell in the air when it has rained heavily.
Rain more rain and yet more rain to come......
What next snow....... erm possible then the whole of the northwest can come to a standstill like last year.....
Oh well at least the Fatcats are getting paid while theres a hosepipe ban....
its been raining on and off for weeks what do people need hosepipes for?
Surely it was an hours rain in one hour?
do they think they could really brush the billion litres of water away?
And it rained in the wrong place will be the excuse....