He said eight ambulances had been dispatched and hospitals were on standby.

It also said emergency services were on standby at Greatford, near Stamford, to monitor the West Glen River, which it said threatened to inundate 49 properties in the area.

That may include turning off radiators in unused rooms, switching lights off when they are not needed, and not leaving electrical appliances on standby.

"We used to have a rhyme that went: June, too soon; July, standby; October, all over," he tells me.

Bodycams on four corrections officers were powered on and recording on standby mode without sound.