Pontypridd residents make frantic efforts to protect homes as river floods

Firefighters pumping water from Sion Street by the River Taff in Pontypridd, Wales. Photograph: George Thompson/PA

The River Taff raged through the centre of Pontypridd on Sunday, overflowing its banks and overwhelming homes and businesses.

Sion Street, which runs parallel to the river in the centre of the Valleys town, was flooded, with the murky water breaching several terrace properties. Residents desperately tried to empty their front yards of water with plastic buckets, while others frantically stacked sandbags on their doorsteps.