As floodwater receded a helicopter team from Network Rail took to the skies on Friday to survey the West Coast Mainline and other routes across Cheshire, Cumbria, Lancashire and Merseyside in order to check whether lines that had been submerged showed any signs of lasting damage.

Earlier this week the helicopter was out in the West Midlands to assess the condition of points around Wolverhampton and Lichfield Trent Valley stations during the recent sub zero temperatures.

Key sections of track are fitted with heaters to stop the points from freezing. If the heaters are working properly they glow white in thermal pictures; dark if they are not. “Anything reported to us from the skies can then be looked at straight away by people on the ground and fixed as quickly as possible,” explains Network Rail's route director Dave Penney.

In north Wales, rising flood waters caused by Storm Christoph led to the collapse of a road bridge over a river near the town of St Asaph in the Vale of Clwyd. The single lane Llanerch bridge runs between the villages of Tremeirchion and Trefnant and a diversion route has been established via the nearby A55.

A spokesman for Denbighshire County Council said: “Final plans for the bridge will involve a number of third parties and it could take up to 18 months to resolve.” A local councillor told TP Weekly News that the bridge collapse is a huge loss to the local community.

(Photograph: Network Rail)