Rescuers used a lifeboat to help people to safety after torrential rain left water lapping at homeowners' waists in Northern Ireland.

Rivers burst their banks, bridges were washed away and dozens of roads closed across the province.

The RNLI lifeboat went door to door rescuing people from their homes in Bryansford, Co Down, as waters rose.

Part of the M1 and M2 motorways remain shut and a train in the Irish Republic derailed in the freak conditions.

Lifeboat spokesman Ian Douthwaite said: "In some parts the water had reached waist level and we wanted to ensure that nobody was stranded in their homes."

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service had to help people from their homes in Belfast and counties Down, Armagh and Antrim, with over 850 emergency calls received.

A spokesman for the RNLI added: "Volunteer lifeboat crew at Newcastle RNLI assisted with evacuating people from their homes on August 16 during the heavy rain and flooding in Northern Ireland.

"Eleven members of the lifeboat crew took the D class inshore lifeboat Aldergove II and went door to door in the Bryansford Road area of Newcastle, County Down, to ensure that residents were safe amid rising flood waters.

"The RNLI have special kit that we use with our inshore lifeboat that keeps us dry and warm. Our lifeboat crew assisted two older people to safety from their homes and by the time we stood down two-and-a-half hours later the water was receding. "

A spokeswoman for Northern Ireland Water, the water and sewerage provider, said there had been enormous pressure of infrastructure, fielding over 3,000 calls.

Some places saw up to three-quarters of the normal August rainfall in a single day.

There have been several landslides, including one about one mile from the Spelga Dam on the Slievemaman Road in Newcastle, Co Down.

The Ulster Grand Prix at Dundrod, Co Antrim, was among sporting fixtures cancelled and Carnegie Irish Premier Division football matches, were also affected.

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