Storm Christoph: Boris Johnson pledges £20m for flood defences and warns more rain will come

• Boris Johnson warns of worse rain to come as thousands are evacuated

• Gallery: Manchester evacuations and danger to life warnings, in pictures

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged £20 million for flood defences in Manchester as he warned that there is more rain to come on a visit to the flood affected region today.

Disaster was averted as a storage facility for thousands of vials of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in Wrexham "would have been flooded", were it not for "urgent" action taken last night, the council leader has said.

Vast swathes of Wales, the North and the Midlands have seen flooding and Mr Johnson flew north in a Royal Air Force helicopter to inspect the damage.

A care home in Northwich, Cheshire has been evacuated and the residents were put onto a boat and floated through the city centre towards safety. Power at Weaver Court had been lost and they had no heating overnight.

As of 5:45pm, the Environment Agency has issued three 'severe' flood warnings, 165 flood warnings and 182 less severe flood alerts for England, while thousands of properties in Didsbury have been evacuated as a precaution.

The most pressing concern had been at Wockhardt's pharmaceutical manufacturing facility on a Wrexham Industrial Estate, where last night there was "mild flooding, resulting in excess water surrounding part of the buildings across site," a spokeswoman said in a statement.

Using a team of six responders, lots of sandbags and two water pumps, the facility was kept safe from flood damage.

"We got there at the right time. If we hadn't reacted, the place would have flooded," said Mark Pritchard, Leader of Wrexham County Borough Council.

Have you been affected by Storm Christoph? Share your experience with us in the comments section below or email yourstory@telegraph.co.uk to send us pictures.

05:55 PM

Surface water causing the most severe flooding

David Brown, senior adviser in flood risk management at the Environment Agency, said the high levels of the River Weaver and River Dane in Northwich, Cheshire, had been held back by flood defences but surface water was causing flooding after heavy rain.

He said: "The reason for that is the surface water drainage system has been overwhelmed by the sheer size of that event."

He said river levels had stabilised on Thursday but surface water levels were continuing to "percolate" as water drained away from infrastructure.

He said he expected teams to be in the town overnight and into tomorrow working to clear the surface water, but there was no more significant rain forecast.

05:07 PM

The story behind these dramatic images

Around 40 residents have been dramatically evacuated from a care home in Northwich, Cheshire.

The residents were being taken out of Weaver Court on London Road by fire crews with dinghies on Thursday afternoon.

Much of the town centre was under flood water and cordoned off.

Neighbourhood policing inspector for Northwich Jason Murray said: "A decision was made earlier this morning with ourselves and our emergency service partners that it was necessary to evacuate the residents of Weaver Court for their own safety and principally because the electricity to the premises has had to be isolated because of rising water levels."

Water could be seen around the front door of the care home.

Inspector Murray said residents were being evacuated through a back door and taken to a rest centre at a nearby leisure centre before being transferred to alternative accommodation.

03:30 PM

The Prime Minister speaks

This is what the Prime Minister said earlier today.

03:17 PM

Northwich, Cheshire underwater

More remarkable images emerging of the floods today.

02:58 PM

Houses being evacuated in Wales

A "large number" of properties in the Skewen area of Neath, South Wales, have been evacuated due to flooding.

South Wales Police said the emergency services were in attendance in Goshen Park following reports of a large number of properties being evacuated due to flooding.

Neath Port Talbot Council was urging members of the public to avoid the area.

02:40 PM

Get in touch

Have you been affected by Storm Christoph? Share your experience with us in the comments section below or email yourstory@telegraph.co.uk to send us pictures.

02:16 PM

Weather for the rest of today

The Met Office has released their forecast for this afternoon, and the heavy rain does appear to be lifting.

02:01 PM

Heartbreaking story on the impact of Storm Christoph

A woman has described watching her home flood as Storm Christoph brought heavy rain and snow.

Gabrielle Burns-Smith, 44, said by 12.30pm on Wednesday she and partner James Dainty, 38, were concerned about water outside their home on Warrington Lane in Lymm, Cheshire.

The couple cleared grates and drains to move some of the water but levels continued to rise, Ms Burns-Smith said.

She said: "By 3pm yesterday the water outside was shin deep and by 4pm it was knee deep and we were seriously worrying that the house was going to be breached.

"Then it was.

"We're still in the house, we can't go anywhere because we can't get the car out, the water is just too deep.

"Both living rooms are flooded.

"At 1am I sat and just watched the water coming through the back door."

Ms Burns-Smith said she, Mr Dainty and their dog Tag were staying in the upstairs of the property.

"We managed to get a couple of hours sleep but you almost don't want to go to sleep because you don't know what you'll wake up to.

"We've lived here two and a half years and as we moved in there were new grates and drains put in so we've never been flooded here before.

"Our neighbours who have been here years say they have never seen it like this, with this amount of water down the lane."

01:45 PM

Pictures of the day

Floods have affected vast swathes of Wales, the North of England and the Midlands.

Here are some of the images of the day.

01:12 PM

Lunchtime roundup

Boris Johnson is in Greater Manchester visiting areas that have been affected by flooding overnight.

In a television interview he said: "We are very worried, obviously, about the risk of flooding every year."

He thanked the Environment Agency for their "amazing preparations" and the effort to evacuate people overnight, but warned "there will be further rain overnight".

• A further £20 million will be invested for the Greater Manchester area as part of a £5.2 billion programme of flood defences over the next six years, he added.

• A severe flood warning for parts of Manchester has been stood down.

In a statement, the authority said: "Water levels had continued to rise overnight as expected, but the Didsbury Basin did not significantly overflow and the worst-case scenario was avoided."

• In Wrexham, emergency teams were called out to protect supplies of the Oxford University and AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine following flooding at a manufacturing site in Wales. All supplies are safe and the factory is operating as usual.

As of 1pm, the Environment Agency has issued three 'severe' flood warnings, 178 flood warnings and 195 less severe flood alerts, while thousands of properties in Didsbury have been evacuated as a precaution.

12:15 PM

More funding promised for flood defences

Boris Johnson has defended the Government's record on funding flood defences, telling reporters: "A huge amount has been done here in Greater Manchester, another £60 million has been put in to protecting the Greater Manchester area.

"You can see the defences that we have in place to protect people's homes and people's lives.

"But, be in no doubt, everybody who visits a flood area, anybody who has been through a flood knows the huge psychological, emotional and financial cost of flooding to people."

A further £20 million will be invested for the Greater Manchester area as part of a £5.2 billion programme of flood defences over the next six years, he said.

11:55 AM

The Prime Minister says we must plant trees to help absorb rainfall

Boris Johnson, in his high-vis jacket, has been speaking to the television cameras in Didsbury.

He says the Environment Agency has done an "amazing" planning job, as the severe flood alert is downgraded in the area.

But warning of more bad weather ahead, Mr Johnson said: "There will be more to come, there will be further rain next week, so it is vital that people in affected areas follow the advice."

Offering a solution to the flooding problems, Mr Johnson says that more trees must be planted on higher ground to help absorb rainfall.

"This government has a very ambitious tree planting programme but it's not moving fast enough," he said, adding it would provide "long term resilience to flooding".

11:24 AM

Boris Johnson lands in Didsbury

After a short hop from London on board an RAF helicopter, the Prime Minister is on the ground in Didsbury, where last night, some residents were forced to evacuate their homes.

There are currently two "severe" flood warnings in Didsbury, along the River Mersey, which has burst its banks following heavy rain and melted snow.

11:11 AM

Vaccine facility 'would have been flooded'

Councillor Mark Pritchard, Leader of Wrexham County Borough Council has been speaking to the Telegraph about the situation at the Oxford / AstraZeneca plant in his area.

"We got a phone call last night from the company who were concerned about rising water," he said.

"There was obviously a sense of urgency so we got a team of six people, a load of sandbags and two pumps onto the site.

"The building most at risk was the storage facility, not the manufacturing facility."

It is understood that thousands of vials of the precious vaccine are being held there.

"We diverted the water away from the industrial units in the same way as we would with a home. We got there at the right time. If we hadn't reacted, the place would have flooded.

"It's nice to have a nice story. Vehicles have been coming and going and the operation hasn't been disrupted at all. Obviously, we're continuing to monitor the situation."

10:38 AM

Where the flooding has occurred

Our graphics team has put together a map to show where the most severe flooding has occurred overnight.

10:37 AM

Boris Johnson flies north to inspect the flooding

Today, Boris Johnson is visiting some of the flood-hit areas , after thousands of people were evacuated from their homes overnight.

The Environment Agency has issued a four 'severe' flood warnings, 190 flood warnings and 217 less severe flood alerts, mainly across the Midlands and north of the country.

The Prime Minister chaired a Cobra crisis meeting yesterday, confirming that steps were being taken to ensure the transport and energy networks were prepared so that electricity outages would not be "severe" and that there were sufficient supplies of sandbags.

He told reporters: "There are some times where I have been to scenes where, alas, people have decided not to obey the advice and not evacuated. It is their right not to do so if they choose - it's always people's right to stay wherever they are.

"But it really is advisable - follow the advice. If you are told to leave your home then you should do so."

10:12 AM

Didsbury residents speak of evacuation

Richard Kilpatrick, a Liberal Democrat councillor, was among those who had to evacuate overnight after police came knocking on his door in Didsbury.

He told the Manchester Evening News: "The atmosphere has been a mixture of anxiety and disbelief I think. I helped door-knocking to inform residents.

"We are fine and spirits are high. We just don't expect it to happen here, the defences have always been enough."

He also said Didsbury Mosque was opening its doors for anyone who needed shelter overnight.

09:58 AM

Morning roundup

Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes overnight as Storm Christoph caused widespread flooding across the UK.

Some 2,000 properties in the East Didsbury, West Didsbury and Northenden areas of Greater Manchester were to be evacuated because of rising water levels, the city council said.

People were also asked to leave their homes in parts of Ruthin and Bangor on Dee in North Wales, and Maghull in Merseyside.

It comes as heavy rain and snow continued to fall across England and Wales, with many rivers at "dangerously high levels", the Environment Agency said.

Four "severe" flood warnings, meaning there is a danger to life, were issued by the agency for the River Mersey at Didsbury and Northenden, and in Maghull.

Elsewhere, there are 190 flood warnings and 213 flood alerts.