Travel chaos as flood fears deepen

Rail services in the West Midlands, south west and in Wales were severely affected by Wednesday's flooding, with some routes not running any trains at all.

The Environment Agency issued a severe flood warning for the River Kym in Cambridgeshire, and said 180 properties were at risk of flooding in a village in east Yorkshire.

The tidal gate on the River Humber has been closed at Burstwick Clough, and an agency spokesman said there was a danger the water could overwhelm the defences.

"There are 180 properties at risk from flooding in Burstwick, and this risk will remain at every tide but will increase if more rainfall occurs and the river does not fall enough at low tide," he said.

Heavy rainfall in the area between 11pm on Tuesday and 6am on Wednesday has caused water levels to rise steadily, and there are three flood warnings in place for the area around Burstwick Drain.

Sandbags and pumps have been deployed to try to stem the rising waters.

Elsewhere, rail services were badly disrupted, with taxis and replacement bus services being brought in to transport passengers in Powys and Hampshire.

On Wednesday evening, 73 flood warnings and 165 less severe flood watches were in force around the country after between half an inch and an inch of rain fell in the space of 12 hours. Fears of serious flooding are growing as further rain is forecast for the coming days.

Matt Dobson, a forecaster for MeteoGroup said a band of rain was expected to move in from the west during the next 24 hours. "The heaviest rain is likely to fall in the north-west and the Welsh mountains, where it could feed the River Severn tributaries," he said.