Eight rescued after torrential rain

Eight people were rescued today when the North was hit by torrential rain.

Three teenage girls camping on a mountainside and five motorists trapped in their cars by flood water were rescued after downpours hit the region.

The girls were camping in the Mourne Mountains in Co Down when they were woken in the night by heavy rain which flooded their camp.

The girls – aged between 15 and 17 – called the Mourne Rescue Team for help after finding their route down from the mountains blocked by a swollen river.

Ed Kilgore, chairman of the Mourne Rescue Service, said: “A group had been out camping and were woken by the rain at around 5am and found their camp washed out.

“When they tried to make their way back down the way they had gone up, they found their way blocked by a river that was so badly swollen they could not get across.

“If they had decided to try to get across the river it could have been nasty.

“In the darkness and bad weather they panicked a bit and rang for assistance.”

The teenagers were “wet and miserable and relieved” when the rescue team arrived to guide them down, he said.

They were met by relatives at the bottom of the mountain.

The chairman of the local Down District Council congratulated the Mourne Rescue Team for their work in guiding the teenagers to safety.

Councillor Colin McGrath said: “I have undertaken expeditions in the Mournes myself and understand that conditions can change without warning and with exceptional speed.

“The situations that one can face can change from frightening to life-threatening in a matter of minutes.”

It was always a comfort for walkers in the Mournes to know a dedicated professional rescue team was only a phone call away.

Meanwhile, five people had to be rescued from their cars by the Fire and Rescue Service when they were trapped in flood water on a road near Moira, Co Down.

The Met Office had issued a severe weather warning for the North with a predicted 30mm to 50mm of rain overnight and the deluge continued through much of the day.

Police warned of flooding on roads in a number of places with counties Down and Antrim worst affected as at least one river burst its banks.

The two occupants of the van were not injured, a police spokesman said.