They are frustrated, a bit cheesed off but fairly resigned to it.

Inspector Tim Madgwick

Thousands of homes have now been swamped across Britain and the torrent of water is on the same scale as the "Great Floods" of 1947, said the Environment Agency.

Mr Prescott viewed some of the devastation first hand when met key flood defence workers at the Tewkesbury base of the Environment Agency on the River Severn on Friday.

The Midlands and the South East are also continuing to suffer, and other parts of flood-hit Britain are preparing for a further deluge over the weekend.

More downpours

The Environment Agency has issued 13 severe flood warnings, with the situation expected to get worse into next week due to another 48 hours of heavy rain and downpours.

A further 145 flood warnings and 150 flood watches remain in force across England and Wales.

Insurance rating agency Standard and Poor has predicted the cost of the ongoing floods and storms could reach more than �1bn.

Hundreds of Bonfire Night events have been cancelled because of the appalling weather.

Inspector Tim Madgwick, who was co-ordinating the evacuation of 750 homes in York said the majority of people were choosing to leave.

Water filled the cellars of the Bishops' Palace, near York

He said: "They are frustrated, a bit cheesed off but fairly resigned to it."

York built defences after severe flooding in 1982, but the water levels in the city are now even higher.

The Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, said his heart went out to those who had been hit by the floods and praised the work of the emergency services.

He said: "Such neighbourly and community spirit is certainly a shining light as the country's infrastructure is seriously challenged."

'This is worse than 1982'

Barry Helstrip, who has lived near the river for 23 years, moved his furniture from downstairs and sent his family to stay with relatives.

He said: "I never thought I would see anything like this again. It was bad in 1982 but it's worse than that now."

Pet Rescue: A cat is taken from a flooded house near York

Other badly affected areas across the country include the River Severn from Bewdley through Tewkesbury to Gloucester

In Shrewsbury, Bewdley and Worcester, currents of up to 20mph swept billions of gallons of water into homes and businesses.

Forecasters say they believe most of Britain will have less rain in the next 48 hours but the downpours will return on Sunday.

"Low pressure coming in from the Atlantic late on Sunday looks set to bring further wind and rain across England and Wales on Monday and Tuesday," said a spokesman for the London Weather Centre.

But in the Dover area, 10,000 households were told there is no longer any need to boil their water.

The Folkestone and Dover water company said water supplies were no longer contaminated with bacteria spread by flooding.