UK weather: Torrential downpour leaves homes, roads and railways flooded

Met Office says the worst of the rain is over but river levels remain high

Flooding continued to cause disruption across the midlands and Wales in the aftermath of torrential rainfall across the UK.

Residents at a care home in Hereford had to be evacuated by boat after the River Wye overflowed and cut off part of the city on Sunday.

Worcester racecourse and the Worcestershire cricket ground were also flooded by water from the River Severn.

Heavy rain in Wales washed away parts of the railway track between Abergavenny and Hereford, forcing the closure of the Marches line.

Network Rail said repairs could take up to seven days to complete. “Although we always plan for extreme weather it’s nearly impossible to mitigate such heavy rainfall of the like we’ve seen over the last 24 hours,” said a spokesperson.

Downpours also caused flooding in Northwich in Cheshire and the evacuation of the local marina in the early hours of Sunday.

The River Weaver, which runs through the town, is believed to have reached record levels at Hayhurst Bridge, peaking at 2.83m at 6am.

Flooding also caused road closures across the midlands, and there were several reports of motorists becoming stuck on waterlogged roads.

More than 80 flood warnings, which recommend “immediate action” to be taken, were still in force on Sunday night.

They ranged across England from from Haye on Wye in the west to Hornsey on the East Yorkshire coast.

However the Met Office said the worst of the rain was over, with only minor showers remaining in parts of Scotland and the northwest of England.

“Elsewhere is completely dry today,” meteorologist Sophie Yeomans said. “It was just Friday and Saturday that we saw the really heavy and prolonged rainfall.”

The Environment Agency, which installed temporary flood barriers in Shropshire, Worcestershire, Hereford and Cheshire, warned that river levels would remain high for the several days

Libanus, in South Wales, recorded the highest amount of rain in the country, with 97mm recorded in the 24 hours from 4pm on Friday to 4pm on Saturday.

The mostly dry and sunny weather is expected to continue throughout Monday and Tuesday before further rain returns to most of the UK later in the week.

Additional reporting by Press Association