BBC reporter Dan Johnson: ''The torrential rain has been too much for the rivers to cope with''
Torrential rain has caused flooding across large areas of northern England, with some people being forced to leave their homes.
The Environment Agency (EA) has issued scores of flood warnings and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has five in place.
Residents in the Lancashire towns of Croston and Darwen have been evacuated after nearby rivers burst their banks.
The EA has worked through the night to help clear blockages.
The agency mobilised staff across the North West to monitor river levels and operate flood defences alongside emergency services.
A spokeswoman said "a month's rain" was predicted to fall in 24 hours.
"Start Quote
End Quote Andrew Edmundsen Croston pub landlordIf you're in you're in, if you're out you're out"
EA flood risk manager Pete Fox said the situation was "worrisome".
"We've seen unprecedented wet weather during June and the catchments, the soil, is all sodden and this last heavy bout of rainfall has landed on top of that soil and quickly gone down into rivers and is now going down through the Pennine Rivers," he said.
At 05:25 BST on Saturday there were 93 flood warnings in place across northern England and 54 less severe flood alerts covering the North East, North West and South West. SEPA had issued nine alerts.
The EA said the local authority in Croston had been distributing sandbags after the River Yarrow burst its banks.
"Croston has been cut off, the roads in and out," a spokeswoman said.
Andrew Edmundsen, landlord of the local Black Horse pub, said: "At the moment we are an island. All three roads that lead in are flooded. If you're in you're in, if you're out you're out."
The EA spokeswoman said there had been reports of floods across Oldham, Wigan and near the River Darwen.
Evacuation centres have been set up in Darwen and Bacup. In Wigan, residents were ferried from their homes by boat after heavy rainfall clogged drains in Beresford Street.
BBC reporter Dan Johnson said the River Calder had burst into the centre of West Yorkshire's Mytholmroyd, flooding businesses and homes.
The deluge also saw residents of a care home in Todmorden moved to the top floor of the building.
Flooding disrupted a number of train services in the north of England, with buses being used as replacement transport in some instances, according to National Rail.
'Nasty conditions'John Seymour from the AA's Special Operations Response Team said it was important people stayed out of the flood waters.
"It's worth remembering that even if the water is fairly shallow, six inches of water flowing at six miles an hour, if you fall over in that you probably won't be able to stand up and you'll be swept downstream."
The Met Office has severe weather warnings in place for North West England, West Midlands, Strathclyde, South West Scotland, Lothian Borders, Central, Tayside and Fife, East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber and Northern Ireland.
It said the rain should clear northwards during Saturday morning before more rain in the afternoon and evening.
BBC Weather presenter Helen Willets said there had been in excess of 100mm of rain in north west England on Friday, with some "really nasty conditions" still to come.
Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Are you affected by the bad weather? If you are willing to be interviewed on BBC TV and radio please fill in the form below.