EAST Lancashire's favourite weatherman has given an insight into why the area largely escaped the deluge with left parts of the UK under feet of water.

This week floods have caused millions of pounds of damage, with the worst hit areas being Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Midlands. The freak summer weather has also claimed four lives.

And although weatherman predicted East Lancashire would be hit by the worst rain for 15 years on Monday, the torrent died down by mid afternoon before any major problems occurred.

TV and radio weatherman John Kettley, originally from Todmorden, explained that the bad weather had been caused by a band of low pressure moving up through the country from the South East of England, through the midlands and to the North sea.

He said that winds moving in a North Eastly direction have meant that the Pennines have protected East Lancashire from the worst of the rain, pushing it east towards Yorkshire.

He said: "We have had an exceptionally bad June but this type of weather is not unusual for June. Only three years ago we had similar weather.

"In the last 20 years the seasons have been pushed back and begun arriving later, which cannot be fully explained by global warming, but it is probably a contributing factor.

"The Pennines are generally prone to wet weather and thunder storms during the summer, but the weather may improve in August, and weather in September can be quite warm."

A spokeperson for The Environment Agency said: "East Lancashire has received 100mm of rainfall which is not uncommon for the area. We have been monitoring the country as a whole and at this moment are not concerned about flooding in East Lancashire. If river levels were to rise then we would alert homes and businesses who are in the highest risk areas."

Pat Spenceley, a flood warden in Earby said: "Earby was devastated by floods in 2004 and since then we have liaised with the Environment Agency to help to prevent flood damage. We were put on flood watch by the Environment Agency this week and have been extremely worried about the threat of flooding.

"We put sand bags down on the advice of the agency and we would like to thank them for all their advice. Luckily we have avoided the damage of 2004 but we are prepared for future flooding."