UK floods: Extraordinary before-and-after images show true impact of Britain's 'wettest winter for 250 years'

With the average amount of rainfall for February expected in this week alone, the Environment Agency says things will 'get worse before they get better'

Other towns and villages along the Thames area, such as Purley-on-Thames, have also experienced severe flooding

With yet more train services disrupted and heavy rainfall still to come this week, these extraordinary before-and-after images can only hint at the full extent of the flooding across southern England.

It is estimated that around 5,500 homes have now been flooded from the Somerset Levels to the Thames Valley, and the Environment Agency has warned that things are likely to “get worse before they get better”.

In the Thames-side Berkshire village of Datchet, featured in the images, around 1,700 homes lost power last night, with a spokesperson for provider Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) saying flooding “clearly can’t be ruled out” as the cause.

Purley on Thames, also included, was the target of a visit yesterday from the Labour leader Ed Miliband, during which he was branded a “flood tourist” by the Reading West MP Alok Sharma.

At Prime Minister's Questions today, Mr Cameron said grants of up to £5,000 will be available to businesses and homeowners hit by flooding.

He also announced a £10 million fund for farmers whose land has been waterlogged for weeks and deferred tax payments and 100 per cent business rate relief for affected businesses.

While the UK was subjected to significant stormy weather – including heavy rainfall – today, Paul Leinster, chief executive of the Environment Agency, said: “Our hearts and sincere sympathy go out to those who have already experienced flooding.

“We continue to have teams out on the ground 24/7 working to protect lives, homes, businesses, communities and farmland.

“With further rain expected in the coming days, after the wettest January on record in England, the situation is likely to get worse before it gets better.

“Further flooding is expected along the Thames, which could reach its highest levels in some places since 1947. River levels are very high across south west, central and southern England and further rain has the potential to cause significant flooding,” he warned.

The Environment Agency and the Prime Minister have said Britain is on track to experience the wettest winter for 250 years. Laura Young, a spokesperson for the Met Office, told The Independent that its precipitation data for England and Wales go as far back 1766, but said there were no guarantees the record would be broken.

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