Flash flooding leaves large parts of Britain submerged after heavy rainfall – and there’s no end in sight

Some areas could see 30mm of rain in an hour as flood warnings and alerts issued

Ellie Cambridge

Published: 8:37, 17 Jun 2016
Updated: 20:40, 19 Jun 2016

PARTS of the country have been left under waist-high water as flash floods rushed in from overnight heavy rainfall.

The weather has been unpredictable all week, with bouts of sunshine one minute and pouring rain the next - but now it is causing some severe weather warnings to be issued as some areas in the south of England and Wales could see more than 30mm of rain in an hour.

MAJOR FLOODING IN BIRMINGHAM — Birmingham was one of the worst areas affected as heavy rain fell on much of the country last night - flash floods badly affected roads in the cityCredit: Caters News Agency

The village of South Pool in Devon was hit by flash floods of mud and water after half an hour of rain and hail yesterdayCredit: APEX

The Environment Agency flagged up 10 flood warnings which suggest immediate action is required, and 35 alerts meaning flooding is possible.

Today Rochester in Kent faced a fresh flood as cars parked and travelling in The Esplanade suffered major water damage.

Birmingham was one of the worst hit areas in the Midlands last night, with water trapping people in their cars and getting as high as car windows.

Community spirit was in full flow as everyone battled against the onslaught of the floods.

A group of pub-goers helped to clear out the water in the cellar of a Moseley pub.

NINTCHDBPICT000245423327 — This lad didn't mind getting drenched if it was for the good of his local pub, as he and several others helped to clear a pub cellar in BirminghamCredit: BIRMINGHAM MAIL

A crew from Stourbridge Community Fire Station came to the aid of disabled children in the West Midlands town, who needed help getting out of a care home as the floods hit last night.

A police car ended up on its roof on the A488 near Shrewsbury in Shropshire at about 7.20pm last night, due to swerving out of the path of an oncoming driver who was trying to avoid floodwater.

A West Mercia Police spokesman said the police car mounted a verge, ploughed through a fence and rolled before coming to rest in a field.

It had been on its way to an emergency. The driver, thought to be a woman, of the silver Volkswagen Golf did not stop and police were appealing for her to come forward today.

Some schools wore forced to close today as the flooding was affecting transport and buildings, and Lye station in the Dudley borough in the West Midlands looked more like a canal than a train station as water filled the tracks.

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About 100 properties were affected by the flash flooding in Sir John's Road in Birmingham and residents were told to stay upstairs

Ben Brook, West Midlands Fire Service area commander for emergency response, said: "Flooding seems to be a more regular occurrence across the West Midlands, and we've responded to hundreds of weather-related incidents over the past eight days.

"Whilst our careful planning provides resilience for our communities, the large number of calls from flash flooding over the past week have placed a strain on our fire control and crews."

Southampton also experienced chaos as thunderstorms and heavy rain brought surface water flooding.

A prized cow which has won competitions got stuck in the middle of a fast flowing river in Cheshire and had to be hoisted out, during rains earlier in the week.

The animals was found stranded in the River Dane on Wednesday evening, when it had not turned up for milking.

NINTCHDBPICT000245419684 — After about an hour the black and white prize winner was pulled out of a river in Cheshire, and sent to the cow shed with plenty of food and water.Credit: Cheshire Fire and Rescue/Mercury

FAMEFLYNET - GV: Serious Flooding Causes Major Water Damage To Parked Cars In Rochester — Cars in Rochester in Kent faced a rather soggy day as their owners had left them parked in an area which flooded todayCredit: Fame Flynet

In London cars became stranded last night in Putney and Wandsworth, in the south, as about two feet of water gathered in an underpass.

Other areas of the capital were affected by flooding as surface water from a heavy rainfall covered roads near to Park Royal station in the west of London.

A village in Devon was left deluged in water after just half an hour of torrential rain and hail struck yesterday afternoon.

Rivers of mud and water rushed down the streets at speed and took over the village.

Wales was also hit by storms battering various parts of the country, with train lines and roads affected by flooding yesterday evening.

Back in Birmingham two bright students used a blow up airbed to fashion a raft to get through the river on residential stress.

The pair were spotted helping a neighbour to cross the water without getting wet.

NINTCHDBPICT000245442969 — A novel way to travel - two students were snapped helping a neighbour get across the flooding by using an airbed and an umbrellaCredit: Jayne Thomson

A man looks down at an abandoned car washed into a bridge by the floods in BirminghamCredit: Birmingham Mail

A yellow warning for the Midlands and south of the UK is in place, which means heavy showers are expected and could lead to localised flooding.

The warning was issued yesterday morning and is expected to be in place until 10pm this evening.

The Met Office warned heavy showers would redevelop today, leading to some "torrential downpours";.

It said: "As on preceding days some locations will miss these downpours, but please be aware of possible localised flooding and disruption to travel where they do occur.

"Lightening could be an additional hazard."

There are currently no weather warnings for the weekend.

The Met Office predicts that while rain could be heavy today into the evening, showers will ease off by Saturday leading to a mostly dry and, on occasion, sunny weekend for the majority of the UK.