Brits are set for a washout today with shoppers having to battle 50mph winds and a week’s worth of rain if they want to take advantage of the Boxing Day sales.
The Met Office has warned that a huge deluge of rain is expected to sweep across the UK on Thursday, with some parts of the south west of England likely to experience up to 30mm (1.2ins) of rainfall.
Other regions could see as much as 20mm (0.8ins) as the weather front travels across the country with the Environment Agency issuing 128 flood alerts.
Of those, 35 are flood warnings which means that flooding is expected.
The weather is expected to improve by New Year, with the Met Office predicted a dry day for most, though there may be patches of fog and frost.
Incessant rain has flooded the A1101 road in Welney on the Norfolk and Cambridgeshire border and a man having a Christmas paddle in his kayak was astonished to find two submerged cars worth more than £20,000.
The drivers had to abandon them because of the floods and photos of the sunken cars were taken by Anthony Gleave who paddled along the flooded road in his kayak and dubbed it the ‘Welney Sea’.
Thought to be a Mercedes C class coupe and a Nissan Qashqai, they would be worth more than £10,000 each but are now likely to be written off because the floodwater will have ruined the upholstery and damaged the engines.
Flooding also hit Downs Barn and Downhead Park in Milton Keynes with a burst water main causing chaos and affecting 50 homes.
A submerged road in Cambridgeshire after heavy rain flooded the A1101 on the Norfolk/Cambridgeshire border near Welney
Incessant rain has flooded the A1101 road in Welney on the Norfolk and Cambridgeshire border and Anthony Gleave (pictured) was shocked to come across two submerged supercars
Flooding from a burst water in Downs Barn and Downhead Park in Milton Keynes, with the Fire and Rescue service at the scene
Photos of the sunken cars were taken by Anthony Gleave who paddled along the flooded road in his kayak and dubbed it ‘Welney Sea’
Coastal areas in the south west meanwhile are forecast to be hit by winds of up to 50mph.
The conditions are set to put a dampener on what was a mostly pleasant Christmas Day for the UK with Met Office forecaster Alex Burkill predicting that ‘pretty much everywhere’ will see some level of wet weather.
‘For most places there is going to be a lot of cloud and some rain around too,’ Mr Burkill said.
‘The heaviest will be in south-west England and Wales.
‘Because of the amount of rain we have seen this month there could also be some localised flooding.’
However, the threat of bad weather didn’t seem to have dissuaded many, with hundreds of shoppers lining the sodden streets to battle for Boxing Day bargains.
Emergency services rushed to tackle the flooding in Milton Keynes, with the Environment Agency previously issuing 128 flood alerts for Boxing Day
Photos of the sunken cars were taken by Anthony Gleave who paddled along the flooded road in his kayak and dubbed it ‘Welney Sea’
The submerged cars could be worth more than £10,000 each but are now likely to be written off because the floodwater will have ruined the upholstery and damaged the engines
Bathers brave the cold waters of the North Sea as they take part in the annual Boxing Day dip at Redcar Beach
Bathers brave the cold waters of the North Sea as they take part in the annual Boxing Day dip at Redcar Beach to raise money for a number of charities
The annual Boxing Day event attracts hundreds of people each year who take to the cold water wearing fancy dress
A dog joins her owner as bathers brave the cold waters of the North Sea as they take part in the annual Boxing Day dip at Redcar Beach
There is some good news for London shoppers however, with the skies expected to clear by the afternoon as temperatures reach 53.6F in the South and 41F further north.
Looking ahead, the rain is expected to persist until Saturday in the north west of England while sunshine should return for the south east in time for the weekend.
It comes as Boxing Day bargain hunters across the UK braved the queues this morning to take advantage of lower prices across stores that have slashed goods by up to 75 per cent in a desperate bid to lure online shoppers to the high street.
Some queued up as early as 4am to make sure they grabbed bargains before they were all snapped up.
Retailers launched their sales online this morning, but it didn’t stop savvy shoppers lining up outside shops in a bid to get their hands on the best bargains.
Customers queue ahead of the Selfridges’ Boxing Day sale in London, seemingly not bothered by the rain that will be falling throughout the day
The Met Office has warned that a huge deluge of rain is expected to sweep across the UK on Thursday, affecting shoppers such as these in London
Hundreds of people in Liverpool lined up this morning to bag a bargain and in some areas security teams were seen handing out large plastic bags to shoppers
Shoppers at the Next Boxing Day sale at the Next store on Queen Street in Cardiff, Wales are pictured above earlier this morning
Shoppers in Cardiff queued from the early hours of the morning for the annual sale with Next opening its doors to customers at 6am this morning
It comes as organisers begged swimmers not to plunge into the flood-swollen, swirling River Thames at Henley today to prove how ‘hard’ they are.
Since 2009 a December 26th dip has been held and last year a record 63 swimmers including ‘bad boy’ model and TV personality Calum Best, son of footballer George, dived in.
It’s become an annual fixture but the Thames is dangerous this year after the continuous rain and Henley Open Water Swimming Club is urging people to stay away.
They fear swimmers will drown and spectators – including children – lining the river banks could also be swept away and quickly lost in the river which is up to 70ft deep at Henley.
However, it’s feared some foolhardy people – many nursing Christmas hangovers – will ignore the cancellation and will still try to swim across the Thames.