Flood fears ease as defences hold

As the Princess Royal pledged her support to deluged families living in caravans since last summer, the Environment Agency gave them hope that the worst of the latest crisis might be over.

More bands of wet weather were expected across northern Wales over the weekend but flood defences across the country were said to be coping well.

Warnings have halved over the past 24 hours, with only parts of the Midlands remaining on high alert.

Lisa Beechey, spokeswoman for the Agency, said the situation was not unusual for this time of year.

She said: "This flood event is not on the scale of the summer where we saw thousands of properties flooded. So far only a small number of properties have been affected.

"The general situation is improving and although we will see more wet weather over the next few days. We are constantly monitoring the situation and will issue flood warnings and deploy our officers as needed."

The majority of rainfall this weekend was expected to fall over the hills of northern Wales.

Princess Anne visited one of the worst-affected towns, Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, which is near to her Gatcombe Park home.

After meeting several families who have been living in caravans since last summer, she said: "They seem to be coping remarkably well."