By . Lucy Crossley . PUBLISHED: . 00:41 EST, 9 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 08:08 EST, 9 January 2014 . An elderly woman was bitten on her face and body after a rat swept out of the sewers during the recent storms crawled into her care home bed. The woman, aged in her 80s, suffered a number of bites after she was set upon by the creature, which was believed to have been forced out of a sewer by a deluge of floodwater. Staff at privately-run Hadleigh Court care home in Torquay, Devon, were alerted to the rat attack after hearing the terrified woman's screams, and entered her room to find the rodent under her bedclothes. Attack: An elderly resident at Hadleigh Court care home in Torquay, Devon, was bitten on her face and body after a rat swept out of the sewers during the recent storms crawled into her bed . The woman, who has not been named, was immediately rushed out of her room and an ambulance was called to take her to hospital. 'She had a couple of bites on her cheek and her hands were bitten where she was trying to push it away,' a source told the Mirror newspaper. The incident at the £460-a-week care home was today being investigated by the local council, whicj was informed by the Care Quality Commission. The source described the care home as 'well-run and clean', adding that residents were all being properly looked after, but suggested that the recent poor weather had forced the rodent out of the overflowing sewers. South Western Ambulance Service confirmed that paramedics were dispatched to the home early on Sunday morning . 'There’s been an awful lot of rain and maybe the rat wandered into the home because it wanted to get warm and dry,' they said. South Western Ambulance Service confirmed that paramedics were dispatched to the home early on Sunday morning. Staff at the home were not available for comment, with one female worker refusing to open the door to the building. Since mid-December Britain has been battered by a number of heavy storms, which have flooded homes and businesses across the country. Soaked: Since mid-December Britain has been battered by a number of heavy storms, which have flooded homes and businesses across the country, including this property near Apperley, Gloucester . Risk: Millions more people across the south of England have been told to prepare for more flooding this week . Seven people have died and more than 1,700 homes and businesses have been flooded in England since the beginning of the Christmas period, with around 550 properties flooded since the new year. High winds over Christmas also left 250,000 homes without power, with some families waiting days for electricity to be restored. Millions more people across the south of England have been told to prepare for more flooding this week, with rivers in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, Surry, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Midlands on alert. There were 102 flood warnings and 181 flood alerts in place, although none of them were deemed severe, which would carry a danger to life. Floods: Tom Ballance uses a stand up paddle board to make his way through Oxford . Forecasters have also warned that wintry weather will replace the storms next week, and temperatures could fall to as low as -11C next week. The dramatic change in the weather may be . driven by a freezing front from the Arctic moving steadily south over . the next few days and meeting warmer, wetter air currently hovering over . the UK. The Met Office spokesman Laura Young  said: ‘Into the weekend and next week we are going to see temperatures return to normal levels for this time of year which will make it feel a lot colder and bring a risk of frost, fog, and wintry showers.’
Woman in her 80s was found with bite marks on her face and hands .
Staff at privately-run home found the rodent under her bed clothes .
Rat was believed to have been forced out of an overflowing sewer .
Rain which has blighted the UK set to give way to more wintry weather .
By . Lucy Crossley . PUBLISHED: . 00:41 EST, 9 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 08:08 EST, 9 January 2014 . An elderly woman was bitten on her face and body after a rat swept out of the sewers during the recent storms crawled into her care home bed. The woman, aged in her 80s, suffered a number of bites after she was set upon by the creature, which was believed to have been forced out of a sewer by a deluge of floodwater. Staff at privately-run Hadleigh Court care home in Torquay, Devon, were alerted to the rat attack after hearing the terrified woman's screams, and entered her room to find the rodent under her bedclothes. Attack: An elderly resident at Hadleigh Court care home in Torquay, Devon, was bitten on her face and body after a rat swept out of the sewers during the recent storms crawled into her bed . The woman, who has not been named, was immediately rushed out of her room and an ambulance was called to take her to hospital. 'She had a couple of bites on her cheek and her hands were bitten where she was trying to push it away,' a source told the Mirror newspaper. The incident at the £460-a-week care home was today being investigated by the local council, whicj was informed by the Care Quality Commission. The source described the care home as 'well-run and clean', adding that residents were all being properly looked after, but suggested that the recent poor weather had forced the rodent out of the overflowing sewers. South Western Ambulance Service confirmed that paramedics were dispatched to the home early on Sunday morning . 'There’s been an awful lot of rain and maybe the rat wandered into the home because it wanted to get warm and dry,' they said. South Western Ambulance Service confirmed that paramedics were dispatched to the home early on Sunday morning. Staff at the home were not available for comment, with one female worker refusing to open the door to the building. Since mid-December Britain has been battered by a number of heavy storms, which have flooded homes and businesses across the country. Soaked: Since mid-December Britain has been battered by a number of heavy storms, which have flooded homes and businesses across the country, including this property near Apperley, Gloucester . Risk: Millions more people across the south of England have been told to prepare for more flooding this week . Seven people have died and more than 1,700 homes and businesses have been flooded in England since the beginning of the Christmas period, with around 550 properties flooded since the new year. High winds over Christmas also left 250,000 homes without power, with some families waiting days for electricity to be restored. Millions more people across the south of England have been told to prepare for more flooding this week, with rivers in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, Surry, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and the Midlands on alert. There were 102 flood warnings and 181 flood alerts in place, although none of them were deemed severe, which would carry a danger to life. Floods: Tom Ballance uses a stand up paddle board to make his way through Oxford . Forecasters have also warned that wintry weather will replace the storms next week, and temperatures could fall to as low as -11C next week. The dramatic change in the weather may be . driven by a freezing front from the Arctic moving steadily south over . the next few days and meeting warmer, wetter air currently hovering over . the UK. The Met Office spokesman Laura Young  said: ‘Into the weekend and next week we are going to see temperatures return to normal levels for this time of year which will make it feel a lot colder and bring a risk of frost, fog, and wintry showers.’
home bed. The woman, aged in her 80s, suffered a creature, which was believed to have been forced out of a sewer by a deluge of floodwater. Staff at privately-run Hadleigh Court care home in entered her room to find the rodent under her bitten on her face and body after a rat swept out Forecasters have also warned that wintry weather