Flooding: Weather Warnings As Britain Mops Up

The UK was mopping up today after widespread flooding forced many people to evacuate their homes.

Forecasters predict more wet weather over the weekend, with dozens of flood warnings still in place. They expect today to be calmer, with some sunny spells.

There are likely to be gale force winds in many parts of the UK overnight on Saturday into Sunday, forecasters said.

The Met Office says the winds could damage buildings and uproot trees.

Thousands of people were left without power and scores evacuated from their homes after heavy rain battered Britain on Thursday.

Up to two and a half inches of rain fell in some areas as winds gusted up to 70mph, leaving vast swathes of the country under water.

People trying to escape the rising waters were forced to abandon their cars and the AA reported that 900 incidents were being reported every hour.

Around 2,000 homes in the South West and 500 in Wales were without power, as Western Power battled to restore electricity.

Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said: "The threat of flooding looks to remain into the weekend, with potentially stormy conditions across England, Wales and Ireland on Saturday night.

"The threat of yet more heavy rain falling on already saturated ground is not good news and will only increase the risk of flooding."

The South West, Midlands and west of England again bore the brunt of the bad weather yesterday.

The Environment Agency issued scores of flood warnings - where flooding is expected - most of them in the South West and the Midlands.

John Curtin, head of incident management at the Environment Agency, said they had sent out teams to check on flood defences and monitor river levels.

Darron Burness, the AA's head of special operations, said: "Drivers really need to be careful and be prepared for sudden road closures."

He said that some drivers ploughed into flood waters "oblivious to the risks" and warned that this could wreck a car's engine.