Flooding hits picturesque village

Heavy rain in southwest England sent muddy water cascading Thursday down the steep cobbled streets of Clovelly on the North Devon coast. The flooding occurred after a river overtopped its banks, the North Devon Gazette reported. Sue Haworth, a local resident, said the flood came suddenly just before noon when a bank burst. "A torrent of red muddy water rushed down the cobbled steps of the street and into the sea, flooding some of the cottages along the way," she said. "Some residents could not leave their homes and others could not get back to them." Clovelly is a picturesque fishing village turned tourist attraction with streets so steep they cannot be negotiated by automobiles. Other towns in the area also flooded, and some major roads were blocked.