UK battered by rain and wind

Large swathes of Britain were deluged, with heavy and persistent rain causing some localised flooding.

Severe weather and flood warnings were in place in south west England and Wales, with the heavy rain expected to drift north as the day progressed.

A number of roads were under water in Gloucestershire and a road in Gwent was closed following a landslide. The AA reported a higher than normal number of breakdowns as cars ran into trouble after driving through floodwater.

In Devon, one of the areas worst hit by the storms, a motorist had to be rescued by firefighters after a tree branch fell on his car.

Heavy rain followed persistent rainfall in many parts of the UK on Thursday night. Some parts of south Wales were expected to receive more than two inches of rain.

Julian Mayes, senior forecaster for MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "What we've got is a band of heavy rain moving up the west of Britain, as expected. The rain has been very heavy over Wales ... particularly the southern area of the country. The weather is going to clear in south west England and south Wales but as the weather front clears, it is being replaced by some heavy showers." He added: "Essentially, the picture is very disturbed, but the worst of the weather is now heading to northern England and the southern uplands of Scotland."

The Environment Agency has 27 flood watches in place, mainly in Wales. Three flood warnings are also in place on rivers in Devon and Cornwall, a spokesman said.

Parts of the UK experienced gale-force winds, with gusts of more than 60mph recorded at headlands near Torbay in Devon on Friday morning.

The Met Office issued severe weather warnings across large swathes of the country, including all of Wales and all of south west England, the West Midlands and parts of Northern Ireland.