Flood-threatened residents expressed relief on parts of Britain’s east coast in the early hours of Saturday as a feared storm surge failed to deliver the chaos expected.
An RAF spy plane had been scrambled to check eastern coastal defences and thousands of homes were evacuated amid fears of flooding along much of the Britain coast.
More than 10 areas of the UK had been placed on the highest flood alert, where flooding poses a threat to life, as wintry storms battered the country.
There were fears of mass flooding by huge tidal waves travelling along the eastern edge of the country. But in the early hours of Saturday, the remaining residents in a rest centre in Jaywick, Essex, were told they could return to their homes after no signs of flooding.
Charles Osborne, 52, from Great Yarmouth, said: “The river did get pretty high but I didn’t think it would ever go over the walls. I guess it was a lot of panicking but you can’t be too careful.”
Deputy Chief Constable Matthew Horne defended the warnings to residents, saying they were grounded in science and advice from the Environment Agency (EA) and the Met Office.
“We prepare for the worst case scenario and we would be happy to take the same decision again should we be faced with the same advice as we have had over the last 36 hours,” he added.
The Ministry of Defence sent the Sentinel R1 aircraft to inspect defences to give an early warning if any were breached.
It came as police arrested a man for public order offences after he jumped into a river in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.
Officers were alerted to a man acting dangerously next to the River Yare near Haven Bridge at around 9.10pm. When asked to move away from the water for his own safety, the man jumped in.
Police said he was recovered from the water immediately and arrested.
In Essex, the village of Jaywick began being evacuated from 7am on Friday in preparation for the first storm surge expected to hit the area at midday.
The MoD sent an extra 100 troops to Great Yarmouth at 10am to evacuate 5,000 homes.
Around 80 people were also evacuated from the village of Walcott, Norfolk Police said.
But officials warned many people had chosen to stay at home. Essex Police said they had knocked on around 2,000 doors but just 140 people had registered for a rest centre set up in the Tendring Educational Centre.
Chief Inspector Russ Cole said he was “extremely grateful” to those who had evacuated ahead of the possible tidal surge. The coastal village of Jaywick escaped a deluge of sea water as the high tide passed in the early hours and did not breach the wall as expected. Kevin Cripps, 52, said he “did not expect it to flood” but thought the emergency services’ response was appropriate, adding: “They have been absolutely marvellous.”
“I told the police I was not leaving and they were fair about it.”
EA manager Claire Beecroft warned walkers to be wary on coastal paths and promenades with the “unsettled” weather continuing on Saturday.
The Chief Fire Officers Association said it had mobilised 15 fire and rescue services to assist in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Humberside.
About 100 soldiers from the Catterick Army base were also deployed to Skegness, the Ministry of Defence said.
It comes as Scotland and the North of England were covered in a blanket of snow. The Met Office had issued severe weather warnings across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland for combinations of high winds, snow and ice. - The Telegraph