A former Conservative parliamentary candidate now standing for Ukip in the general election has claimed he was fired in a “pre-emptive strike” because the Tories knew he planned to leave.

Passengers on a bus that crashed into the front of a bungalow near Hull have avoided serious injury, according to firefighters.

Hundreds of people spent a second night in evacuation centres as a huge clean-up operation continued after catastrophic floods that claimed four lives in the UK.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes in the UK early today after torrential rain led to fears that a a dam could burst.