British town evacuated over fears of dam collapse

Hundreds of people were evacuated from a town in central England as a British military helicopter was called in yesterday to prevent a reservoir dam from collapsing.

The Toddbrook Reservoir dam was feared to be on the verge of caving in following heavy rain, threatening the lives and homes of residents in Whaley Bridge.

One side of the dam spillway weakened when the panels started to come away on Thursday.

A Royal Air Force (RAF) helicopter lowered bags of aggregate into the damaged part of the dam wall yesterday, while firefighters, scrambled from around the country, have been pumping water out of the reservoir.

“It is a critical situation,” said Julie Sharman, chief operating officer of the Canal and River Trust which runs the reservoir.

She said water levels had reduced by around eight inches (20 centimetres) overnight.

The British government has issued a “severe flooding -- danger to life” warning for the area directly below the dam.