Mytholmroyd flood
Floods have devastated vast swathes of northern England over the past week Getty

At least 10 people had been rescued from a bus in Scotland when it became trapped in rising flood water. The driver of the vehicle is understood to have attempted to travel through an expanse of water in Dailley, South Ayrshire but became stuck.

Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, the Royal Navy and the coastguard were all called to the scene and spent several hours trying to reach those on board. A number of those rescued are said to have been taken to nearby Girvan hospital for treatment.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokeswoman said: "I can confirm we've been called in by police to assist with an incident where a bus and some occupants have been trapped in some flood water."

Eyewitness Joanne Clanahan told Sky News that the bus managed to get about halfway through the expanse of water before getting stuck. Images from the scene showed that the water was deep that it had reached halfway up the bus's windscreen.

The incident comes as it emerged British homeowners and business hit by the floods are underinsured by as much as £1bn. Accountancy firm KPMG put the overall cost of the floods at over £5bn, with £1bn worth of damage not covered by insurance claims.

More about UK floods

"The scale of the flooding over the last few weeks has seen communities across large sections of Northern England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland severely impacted. In 2007 when a similar pattern of flooding hit, total insured claims were £3.2bn," said Justin Balcombe, KPMG's UK head of general insurance management consulting.

On Wednesday morning (30 December) a man was arrested on suspicion of looting a flood victim's home in West Yorkshire. Police were called to reports of a male in a white van allegedly stealing items from outside a flood damaged property in Burnley Road, Mytholmroyd.

The attending officers located the vehicle nearby and a 40-year-old male from Dewsbury was arrested on suspicion of theft. Mytholmroyd is one of the villages worst hit by the floods after the River Calder burst its banks.