Torrential rain swept across Britain yesterday bringing flooding, tornados and death on the wettest June day on record.

A 28-year-old man died trying to unblock a drain in Hull despite the efforts of emergency services. In Sheffield, a 13-year-old boy who was swept into a swollen river near a playground was feared dead and a 68-year-old man died while attempting to cross a flooded road.

Hundreds of shoppers and office workers were last night stranded by rising waters in the Meadow Hall area of Sheffield as rescue helicopters were airlifting to safety those in most need. One of those trapped described cars floating down the road outside as floodwaters swelled by four feet in a matter of minutes.

In Humberside, hundreds of motorists were marooned on the main route into Hull as floodwater and stranded cars blocked the A63 into the city. Motorists and lorry drivers were standing in the road and sitting on their vehicles in the five-mile tailback in the South Cave area.

A spokesman for Humberside Fire and Rescue Service said that the day had “possibly been the busiest 12 hours in the history of the service”. He said that the service dealt with more than 1,500 calls.

Elsewhere, hundreds of homes and businesses were flooded, schools evacuated and cars swept away as more rain fell in 24 hours across Britain than usually falls in the entire month of June. Tens of thousands of homes are this morning without power.

Four tornados were also reported, in Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire; Treeton, South Yorkshire; Cranwell, Bedfordshire; and Telford, Shropshire.

A further deluge is forecast to sweep across the country from the South West at the end of the week.