Around 100 people have been making use of rest centres set up across Great Yarmouth and Gorleston.

Centres were set up at Cliff Park Ormiston Academy and Ormeston Venture Academy in Gorleston and at Christ Church on King Street, Great Yarmouth, offering a haven to those who chose to evacuate their homes.

The busiest of these was Cliff Park, which welcomed more than 80 people from vulnerable areas.

Ormiston Venture Academy provided warm refreshments and activities to those that chose to seek refuge at them, though a considerably lower number turned up.

However, principal Simon Gilbert-Barnham was still glad the school could offer the service again, having previously done so in 2013.

He said: 'We have been a rest centre for a number of years and see it as our way of providing further service to the community.

'We have the facilities to do so, so we are delighted it is something we have been able to offer.

'Throughout the day we had parents phoning in asking if they could volunteer or do anything to help, which really goes to show the community spirit that there is in this part of the county, which isn't praised often enough.'

Charlotte Bacon, 29, who used the centre along with her young daughter, said: 'We knew it was here because I came back in 2013 as well and it was a comfort to know it was here again.

'I think the emergency services did and absolutely great job - I cannot fault them.'

However, while some people did make use of the centres, the majority of people elected to either stay in their own homes or seek refuge elsewhere.

Throughout the day, police, military personnel and firefighters visited around 5,000 to 7,000 homes and advised residents to evacuate, however.

Over the evening, additional evacuation centres were set up on Caister and Hemsby.