Rain-soaked Britain is bracing itself for another round of flooding after more torrential downpours overnight risk rivers bursting their banks as the weekend approaches.
The Environment Agency today warned the week-long flooding crisis is far from over, with 141 warnings and 172 alerts in place across England in the early hours of Friday.
Rain is still falling on saturated villages in the worst-hit areas of the North and the Midlands, after the Army was drafted in to pump water from the streets and gardens of hundreds of flooded homes yesterday.
Officials fear the rain battering large swathes of the UK will mean a second wave of flooding for areas already struggling to cope with more than a month’s rainfall in 24 hours.
This driver had to abandon their Mercedes after they tried and failed to cross a notorious flooding flash point in Birmingham late on Thursday
The battle to save Bentley! The Doncaster suburb of Bentley had to have the Army drafted in late on Thursday after more rainfall threatened overnight
Members of the armed forces are pictured wheeling sandbags through flood water in Bentley, South Yorkshire late yesterday
A police cordon had to be put in place late on Thursday after the Mercedes was abandoned in the middle of floods in Hall Green, Birmingham
A three-day forecasts shows Britain covered in thick cloud, heavy rain and snow showers on Friday, Saturday and Sunday
The Environment Agency today warned the week-long flooding crisis is far from over, with 141 warnings and 172 alerts in place across England in the early hours of Friday
With temperatures dropping below freezing in the early hours of Friday, the Met Office has also issued a yellow weather warning for ice for large parts of Northern Ireland.
In Fishlake, South Yorkshire yesterday, the Army was at the centre of a major operation to pump water away from hundreds of flooded homes.
One driver was forced to abandon their Mercedes after they tried and failed to cross a flooding hot spot in Hall Green, Birmingham late yesterday. Police had to cordon off the area for fear other drivers may attempt to do the same.
In the west of the country yesterday, the day began for communities in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Avon, Devon and South Wales with a coating of snow. Around two inches fell on Dartmoor with more expected overnight.
Snow showers also meant long delays for motorists in Gloucestershire, before heavy rain caused flooding.
Further weather warnings have been issued as more rain begins to hit areas that bore the brunt of this week’s floodings. Pictured: Flood water in Fishlake yesterday
Rain-battered Britain: A car is pictured swallowed by flood water near Bardney in Lincolnshire yesterday
Fields near Welney in Cambridgeshire are seen covered with floodwater yesterday afternoon after the River Great Ouse burst its banks
Oxfordshire County Council said firefighters had to rescue ‘a number of people’ from vehicles stuck in floodwater yesterday. Pictured is flooding in Botley Recreation Ground in Oxford which backs on to the River Thames
Schools and roads were closed, bus and rail services were cancelled and racing at Cheltenham Racecourse is cancelled for today.
Parts of South Wales were also hit, with road closures after the snow, but the area was soon also having to cope with heavy rain.
The Oxfordshire village of Wendlebury, near Bicester, flooded after a brook burst its banks.
John Griffiths of the Met Office said: ‘Across parts of south Midlands, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire, we’ve seen between 30mm to 45mm of rain quite widely.’
He said in the Doncaster area, where hundreds of homes were flooded last week, the latest deluge is expected to add another 30mm of rain.
Soldiers help with sandbagging homes in the village of Fishlake, South Yorkshire, yesterday, which continues to suffer from flooding and residents start to salvage belongings from their homes
A soldier carry sandbags as they continue to bolster flood defences in and around Fishlake, South Yorkshire, yesterday
In other areas of the country heavy snow is falling. Dartmoor, Devon is pictured yesterday covered in white making for treacherous driving conditions
A 4×4 tries to make its way along the B3190 towards Minehead on Exmoor yesterday morning after heavy snow left roads near impassable
Snow in Northleach, Gloucestershire is pictured on Thursday morning, with more snow and rain expected on Friday