THUNDERSTORMS in the region may have ended the unbroken run of hot, sunny weather, but some rivers still remain little more than a trickle.

Heavy rainfall over parts of the region on Monday night and Tuesday morning saw localised flooding brought to some parts of the region.

In Teesside, roads and gardens were flooded during a torrential downpour, which was accompanied by electrical storms and there were reports of localised power cuts which hit areas including Darlington, Redcar, Houghton-le-Spring, Langley Park, Durham and Ferryhill. Roads also saw flash flooding, including the A1(M) which was closed between Bowburn and Carville while the Highways Agency was called to deal with the incident.

But it isn’t enough to restore some rivers to levels expected this time of year. The River Bain in Wensleydale has all but disappeared.

Neil McNair, who runs Low Mill Guesthouse, a working watermill on the side of the River Bain at Bainbridge, said he walked nearly a mile up the river bed from their home without once getting his feet wet.

He said the recent thunderstorms brought with them a small amount of rain, which largely soaked into the parched river bed.

“There’s about half an inch of water flowing down the river now but a couple of days and that will be gone again,” he said.

“I’ve not ever known it being close to what it is now. I’ve lived here eight or nine years, but people who have lived here their whole lives have never seen it so bad.”

Other famous beauty spots in the Yorkshire Dales have similarly been hit by the prolonged dry, hot weather. Janet’s Foss, near Malham in the Yorkshire Dales, a waterfall and basin popular with wild swimmers has run dry, whilst one of the most famous waterfalls in the North of England, Aysgarth Falls, has also been reduced to a trickle.

There are no plans for a hosepipe ban in the North-East, but Northumbrian Water is still asking customers to use water wisely as dry and warm weather continues.

The water company, which provides drinking and waste water services to 2.7 million people in Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside as well as the large rural areas of Northumberland and County Durham, is asking its customers to do as much as they can to save water around the home and garden.

Northumbrian Water says it is continuing to monitor supplies closely, and has put additional resources in place to manage the increase in demand, which has been consistently at 20 per cent above expected levels for this time of year. It says water levels at its 22 reservoirs remain healthy.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said rivers within the Yorkshire Dales, including the River Ure were either ‘below normal’ or ‘notable low’ in terms of their flow for the time of year.

It is possible household restrictions could be required if rain doesn't return.

He said: “Many river flows have dropped to lower levels than normal for this time of year, which can be damaging to wildlife, but we have robust plans in place to respond to these pressures.

"The Environment Agency has stepped up our incident response as well as regulation of those abstracting water to ensure the environment is protected.

“Groundwater supplies are at healthy levels. However, unless rain returns, it is possible household water restrictions could be required.

“We encourage everyone to follow advice on saving water from their water company and use water wisely because this will help protect the environment, conserve water in reservoirs and may delay the need for drought measures.”

Yorkshire Water said it had seen its demand increase by 200m litres of water a day over the past month - more than the daily demand of a city the size of Leeds and had moved water around the county to accommodate this.

It has asked customers to continue being careful with their use of water.