The river Aire carries floodwater through Leeds at 1.30pm

I have just been into Leeds to check on the state of the river Aire after continuous rain since first thing yesterday - although it is hardly more than drizzle now in most parts of West Yorkshire. Last night, Monday 24 September, the river spilled briefly over the embankment in the city centre and came within a few metres of entering ground floor flats in one of the blocks which line the riverside and have been central to Leeds' regeneration. Today, the water has gone down although the levels are still very high and the current strong as you can see in this brief clip from Wainwright Productions. It is hard to believe that there was beach here, before the canalisation of the Aire in the mid-19th century. It was called Sandy Lobby, a name which lives on in a lane above Pool-in-Wharfedale on the city's northern outskirts. This clip was taken in an historic spot, as I mention on the commentary. It was here on Leeds Bridge in 1888 that Louis Le Prince made some of the world's first moving images. You can watch them - very briefly - in this clip here. Meanwhile, the focus of damage from the rain is in Morpeth, Northumberland, where defences installed after disastrous flooding by the river Wansbeck in 2008 have been overwhelmed . North Yorkshire police are also searching the river Swale near Catterick army camp after reports of someone in the water there.