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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Kieren Williams

Digger swept away as Storm Franklin bears down causing river to burst banks

Incredible footage shows the shocking moment a huge digger sinks into the River Aire, in Kirkstall.

The massive Volvo digger is stuck precariously sinking into the water, as police cordon the area off to prevent any accidents.

As the country is battered by its third storm in the space of a week, Brits are more than used to blustery winds and torrential rain this February.

This has included a record 122mph winds and conditions that tragically led to four deaths so far.

Trains have been cancelled and countless damage done through debris and falling trees.

Now, on top of that, new footage shows a massive digger and the platform it was once on, stuck in the river.

As the digger sank into the river, the surrounding platform and all the equipment was stuck underwater too.

The digger sank into the River Aire (Ben Lack/YappApp)

Riverbanks across the country have burst their banks' thanks to the three successive storms that saw localised flooding across the UK.

The footage, filmed on a drone, shows the destruction it has wrought in Leeds.

It also shows a police presence around the area and all they can do is watch as the digger is beyond saving.

The water rushes over it, through the cabin where a driver once sat.

All police could do was watch on as Storm Franklin continued to batter the UK (Ben Lack/YappApp)

River defences prevent the water from spilling out and bursting its banks thankfully as dozens of cars and buildings are only a few metres away.

This all comes as Storm Franklin hit the UK on Sunday night and is forecast to remain through midday on Monday.

Following on from Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice, Franklin is set to bring torrential rain and strong winds to parts of the UK.

This comes at the end of a week in which the UK saw three separate storms (Ben Lack/YappApp)

After red weather warnings which saw record 122mph winds and tragically five Brits die as a result, Franklin is set to be less disruptive than the previous two storms.

The latest storm will affect the UK from midday Sunday into early afternoon Monday.

Environment agencies have also issued hundreds of alerts for flooding across the UK, including two "severe" warnings where rainfall could cause a "danger to life" for communities along the River Mersey in Greater Manchester.

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