Blocked drains were not the cause of devastating New Year's floods which 'significantly damaged' local parks and more than 50 roads, council bosses say.

Torrential rainfall battered Greater Manchester from New Year's Eve well into January 1, leading to police declaring a 'major incident'. Officers attended floods in Bolton, Bowdon, Didsbury, Harpurhey, Stalybridge, Stockport and Wigan over the course of New Year's Day.

Around 1,000 people have been evacuated, and major roads in the city such as the A555 were closed on Thursday (January 2) morning. In Stockport, firefighters evacuated 400 people from Meadow Mill - the residents are all safe, and are either staying with family or in council accommodation.

But the flooding was down to extreme weather and not blocked drains, according to Manchester Council leader Bev Craig, who said 'increased investment for drain clearances' means the authority 'does not believe that the standing water that we saw yesterday is due to blockages'.

Palatine Road remains flooded because it drains into the River Mersey. Water levels in the river have yet to fall sufficiently to allow floodwater to be pumped out, Cllr Craig added.

Palatine Road is just one of 50-plus to be damaged by the floods, with Cllr Craig stating 'over 52 roads experienced damage' and 'we have experienced significant damage in our local parks'.

Debris in the River Mersey, near Stockport Interchange (Image - Alasdair Perry)

The clean-up operation has now begun in earnest, as chief fire officer Dave Russel confirmed his service's 'focus now is on helping people return to their homes and get back to normality as quickly as possible' earlier on Thursday.

It's thought the council and emergency service response to the floods has worked well thus far, with some evacuees able to return home on January 2, while others who still can't go back have been put up in hotels.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham also said 'we were all taken by surprise by some degree' during an interview on Thursday morning, adding: "There was no named storm. There was not a particular warning the authorities gave.

"I am not saying that to point the finger… but it does seem we get hit by very local torrential rain at potential locations. That might have made it a unique event."

In response, a spokesperson for the Environment Agency said its teams 'have been working around the clock over the New Year, operating flood defences, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding, issuing flood warnings and supporting those communities affected, including in Greater Manchester'.

They added: "More broadly, we are delivering a long-term funding programme of flood defences, investing over £1.25 billion this year to scale up national resilience through building new and improving existing flood defences. We know providing the nation with the best available information on flood risk is vital to ensuring that policy makers, practitioners and communities are ready to adapt to flooding."