Press Association

Wing Commander Gary Lane said about 100 military personnel had been drafted in to help with the dam operation.

Image source, RAF

Asked where the challenge of the Whaley Bridge dam ranked in his career, he said: "It's up there. You've got 1,500 people who have been evacuated.

"I was driving down here for an hour on Thursday night and there was a frog in my throat the whole way because you don't know what you're coming into.

"I don't think it would get much more challenging than this."

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

Lifeboat crews which have been working as part of a multi-agency effort at Whaley Bridge are heading back to base.

Derby County chairman Mel Morris is "confident" ex-England captain Wayne Rooney will join the Championship club as player-coach.

Sonia Kataria
BBC News

West Midlands 4x4 Response are today manning road closures in Whaley Bridge to enable the RAF Chinook to land and pick up aggregate to drop into the Toddbrook Reservoir dam.

The team of volunteers help provide transportation in adverse weather conditions.

Image source, WM 4x4 Response

Image source, WM 4x4 Response

Image source, WM 4x4 Response

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

Engineers are due to inspect the safety of the dam now water levels at Toddbrook Reservoir have fallen below eight metres.

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said pontoons are being used to float the pumps so that pumping can continue as the water level recedes.

Pumping will continue until engineers and specialists deem the dam safe.

Deputy chief fire officer Gavin Tomlinson said: "We hope to have the water at a safe level late this morning or by lunchtime, to allow specialist engineers to inspect the dam and feedback about its safety.

"This inspection will have to take place before any decision regarding the return of residents can take place."

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

The amount of water drained from the Toddbrook Reservoir has passed a target set by emergency crews, the Canal and River Trust has said.

In a statement, the trust said: "Pumping continued throughout the night and the reservoir is currently at 25% of its holding capacity with the water level down by 8.4m.

"The water has been pumped out at a controlled rate and good progress is being made."

The trust's original target was eight metres below the normal level.

Image source, PA Media

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue crews continue to help at the ongoing dam emergency in Derbyshire.

Image source, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

As well as a high-volume pump, which is moving water out of the damaged Toddbrook Reservoir near Whaley Bridge, a command unit is also at the scene.

The service is helping with the emergency effort which has entered its sixth day.

Duncan Leatherdale
BBC News Online

The RAF believe they could be finished shoring up the dam with aggregate by this afternoon.

Wing Commander Gary Lane, RAF Regional Liaison Officer for the North West, says a Chinook helicopter has dropped 39 tonnes of aggregate this morning.

Mr Lane says they could be done by mid-afternoon.

He has praised the community for their support and said his crew had been treated to drinks and homemade cakes.

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service have just shared these pictures of crews working to drain the Toddbrook Reservoir.

Image source, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service

Image source, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

A Whaley Bridge resident who has been staying at Buxton's Palace Hotel has praised the "wonderful" staff during her stay.

Charlotte Stonier has been staying at the hotel with her dog Coco.

She said: "It had the potential to be extremely unsettling and very frightening for a lot of people but it's actually been quite a smooth transition.

"It's wonderful in many ways because of how accommodating people have been.

"Having a little dog, coming here and being completely out of routine is quote unusual but it is quite exciting in other ways.

"The Palace Hotel and the staff have been wonderful and it's a true reflection of community spirit in High Peak."

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

A woman has thanked emergency services after joining a team of volunteers to feed staff working to shore up the partially collapsed dam wall at Toddbrook Reservoir.

Tina Firth said she is "one of the lucky ones" because she hasn't been evacuated from her home.

Her workplace, however, is in the exclusion area, so cooking up sausages and bacon using an oven and gas burner has kept her occupied.

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

She said she wanted to help as a way of thanking the workers who have "saved our village".

"Although it's been very stressful, we've enjoyed what we've been doing, it's been fun," she added.

Heidi Booth
Journalist, BBC Radio Derby

Emergency services draining water from the reservoir have reached their target, firefighters on the ground have told me.

The Canal and River Trust previously said it needed to drop water levels by eight metres (26ft).

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said pumps on one side of the reservoir are due to be taken out today.

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

A yellow rain warning has been issued by the Met Office for Whaley Bridge later this week.

Heavy rain is expected from 04:00 until 10:00 on Friday, followed by lighter rain - predicted until 19:00 on Saturday.

Image source, Met Office

Sandish Shoker
BBC News

A Whaley Bridge artist who created a painting to say thank you to emergency services says the requests she's had for prints has been "incredible".

Ellie Kerr is away from her home town studying in Manchester and said she created the painting because she wanted to do something to help.

The 21-year-old is now pledging to donate money from each print she sells to the Buxton Mountain Rescue Team, the RAF and Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Image source, Ellie Kerr / Art Is Mental

"I honestly didn't expect them to be so popular but I'm just happy to do something to help," she said.

Miss Kerr's painting is among several pieces of artwork that have cropped up amid the Whaley Bridge crisis.

Thank you placards have also gone up around the town from people showing gratitude to emergency services.

Amy Woodfield
BBC News

It looks like volunteers in Whaley Bridge have made the night shift much more bearable for police officers.

BBC Hereford and Worcester

A firefighter from the West Midlands has said the situation in Whaley Bridge is one of the most serious national incidents he's ever been called to.

Stuart Crebbin is a group commander for the Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service and has been helping with the effort to pump water from Toddbrook Reservoir.

Image source, Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service

He said: "We did respond as an emergency from Hereford and Worcester to Derbyshire and we were sent straight to the incident to set up.

"There was a real fear at the time that the dam could collapse - that fear existed for a long time and hasn't entirely gone away just yet.

"The weather's holding off, which was a huge risk for us, and the reservoir level is dropping significantly and the reinforcement operation is going very well on the dam itself.

"I am aware of the command team being in discussions with the local community and there is talk about when the community might be allowed back in their homes."

Heidi Booth
Journalist, BBC Radio Derby

More bags of aggregate have already been dropped onto the spillway by the Chinook.

About 200 bags are expected to be added to the pile today.

Heidi Booth
Journalist, BBC Radio Derby

Alice Dearing, one of Great Britain's top female marathon swimmers, looks at the barriers to swimming.

Nick Smith
BBC News Online

An RAF Chinook helicopter, flown by RAF Odiham's 18 Squadron, has landed at Whaley Bridge.

BBC Radio Derby's Heidi Booth spoke to Flight Lieutenant Oliver Bayliss earlier this morning, who said work on the dam is expected to begin shortly.