Northern England Braced for Floods

Much of Northern England is braced for flooding after several hours of heavy rainfall on the already saturated ground.

The Environment Agency has issued severe flood warnings - indicating imminent danger to life and property - for the River Wansbeck in Morpeth, Pickering Beck in Pickering and Brough Beck in Catterick.

Many more ordinary flood warnings - which are issued when flooding is expected - are in force across the region.

Here in Northumberland riverside homes are being evacuated in Morpeth and Rothbury, which have both suffered severe flooding in the past. There is also extensive transport disruption with several road closures along the Wansbeck and Coquet valleys.

A full list of the current warnings can be found on the Agency's website.

The Met Office is forecasting continued rain throughout the afternoon, which should recede overnight. Forecasters predict that as much as 80 mm of rain could fall in North East England today.

Yesterday a 17-year-old girl was killed when her car overturned trying to ford a swollen river in Powys.