Schoolgirl, 10, named as person who died in North Yorkshire mudslide after heavy rain
A 10-year-old girl has been named by her school as the person who died in a mudslide in North Yorkshire
PA
A 10-year-old girl has been named by her school as the person who died in a mudslide in North Yorkshire.
Leah Harrison, a Year 6 pupil at Mount Pleasant Primary School in Darlington died on Wednesday afternoon amid a 24-hour amber warning for rain.
Chief executive of Harrison's school, Nick Blackburn, said she was a "much-loved" student.
Blackburn said: "The full details are still emerging but this is clearly a heartbreaking tragedy.
The incident happened in Carlton-in-ClevelandGoogle Maps"Leah was a much-loved part of our school and our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and the school staff.
"Counselling is being arranged within the school for pupils and staff. We are all in a state of shock and we would ask that the privacy of the family and the school community is respected while we try to come to terms with what has happened."
North Yorkshire Police said the mudslide happened at Carlton-in-Cleveland at around 1.15pm yesterday.
A Cleveland MRT spokesperson said: "Nineteen Cleveland MRT members were deployed immediately, eventually rising to 30 at the scene during the course of the afternoon and working alongside their emergency service colleagues including the North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, in addition to the ambulance services.
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"NorthYorkshire Police have since confirmed that one person sadly died as a result of the incident."
In a statement on Wednesday, the force said no-one else was injured during the incident.
The area was cordoned off throughout the afternoon and members of the public were asked to avoid the area.
It comes as a 24-hour amber warning for rain has been in place across parts of North Wales and north-west England, including Manchester and Liverpool, since midday on Wednesday.
A 24-hour amber warning for rain has been in place across parts of North Wales and north-west England, including Manchester and Liverpool, since midday on Wednesday
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The heavy rain is expected to continue today, with one meteorologist suggesting the "worst is yet to come".
Tom Morgan from the Met Office said: "There was a lot of rainfall overnight in the north-west and southern Scotland, as well as in areas such as the Midlands, East Anglia and the Home Counties.
"The wettest area was Drayton Parslow in Buckinghamshire which saw 68.8mm in the last 24 hours. That’s almost a month’s rainfall in one day."