A Malton man has spoken of his gratitude to rescuers, who saved him from his flooded flat - because his beloved pet dog needed the toilet.

Darren Holliday lives in the Kingsmill Flats, on Sheepfoot Hill. The area around the building has been surrounded by water, but the flats themselves were safe so Darren decided to stay.

By last Thursday though, he needed to get out, as Butch the Staffordshire Bull terrier needed the toilet, and was so well house-trained he wouldn't go in the flat.

Darren said: "It was a bit boring being stuck in the flat, but I had nowhere else to go.

"Before last Thursday, I could carry Butch out if he needed the toilet by using my waders. But the water got so deep though, and the current was so strong, there was no way I would have made it."

In fact the flooding at that point was so bad the flats were effectively in the middle of the Derwent, as a strong offshoot of the river was flowing round the back of the building and then into the river again.

Darren said he put some paper down in the flat to try and get Butch to go there, but he wouldn't do it.

He said: "He must be well house-trained because he wouldn't go inside. In the end it got to about 16 hours since he had been, he was whinging a lot and so we had to leave the flat."

The first rescue attempt was made by a team of firemen, but the current was too strong, so by 6pm a specialist civil defence team were drafted in.

The team operates in crisis-hit areas all over the world, and many are ex-Servicemen.

Using a motor boat they rescued Darren's neighbours and pet cat first, before returning for him.

He said: "It all went smoothly - they were very precise and professional. They did clip the propeller on a concrete step on their first run, but had it sussed when they came back for me, Butch, and my parrot Buzz.

"Butch was really panicking, and they insisted that he wore a lifejacket, which made him worse. I just did exactly as they said, and while I was a little bit nervous, I wasn't too scared - I had been virtually living in the middle of a river for a week after all."

Darren has now made it to his parents' home, where he is staying until the flood recedes.

He said: "I am really grateful to the rescue team. They did a superb job. They, and all the other emergency teams, can't be praised enough."