WE know it has been raining a lot recently, but this is ridiculous.

Thankfully, this photograph wasn't taken today - or even this week or this year. It dates from 73 years ago, and was taken during the 'great flood' of 1947. As if we hadn't been through enough with the war...

York has a long history of floods. But few were as dramatic as that of March 1947. Heavy snow was followed by a rapid thaw. The city's flood defences then were nothing like those we have today, and large areas of the city were left underwater.

Believe it or not, this photo was taken at the junction of Melrosegate and Fourth Avenue. Tang Hall Beck had clearly burst its banks, the waters spreading out to make what resembled an inland sea.

We have no idea where the lorry with its trailer full of passengers thought it was going. But they all look fairly cheerful: after years of war, the people of York were clearly used to hard times...

Stephen Lewis