How the floods united the north – from chefs bearing curry to refugees with sandbags

The impact of the floods in the north of England and Scotland has been enormous. Yet the disaster has brought together people who might never normally mix - from the armies of Sikh and Muslim volunteers to the individuals sending care parcels

" Life is slowly returning to my village - a resident reports

The Sikhs had been dishing out free curry in Mytholmroyd for a few days when a man in his mid to late 20s came up to them, looking emotional. He had a confession to make. "I used to hate Asians," he told one of the coordinators from Khalsa Aid, a Sikh charity based in Slough, who came up to volunteer in the West Yorkshire town after it was almost wiped out in the post-Christmas floods. "I used to be with Combat 18. But I'm so ashamed of that now, having seen how you are all up here helping us." He vowed to go and apologise to all the Asian shopkeepers he had been rude to over the years.

"These floods have changed people," says Ravi Singh, Khalsa Aid's CEO, as his volunteer army diverted resources up to Deeside in Scotland, which flooded earlier this week. "It's been incredibly inspiring to see how people of all backgrounds have come together. There was no twiddling thumbs waiting for the government or authorities to help. They rallied around and they got stuck in. I think the experience will have a long-lasting effect on these communities."