Parts of England on red alert after four inches of rain falls in a few hours

People in more than a dozen areas across the southwest have been warned to ‘take action’ now after flooding that poses a danger to life.

The Environment Agency has 14 red alerts in the region on top of another 96 across the rest of the UK.

The warnings follow an amber weather warning for heavy rain and deep flood water from the Met Office, which is predicting 4ins of rainfall in some parts.

They warn that it could lead to fast-flowing floods, sparking danger to life warnings.

It is also expected to impact train and bus services with roads cut off and rivers breaking their banks.

Andrew Morgan, leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf council, said Sunday had been a ‘close call’ after thousands of sandbags were distributed to high-risk areas.

Hundreds of homes and businesses in the area were flooded in November by Storm Bert.

He said: ‘It’s been a busy day for the dozens of crews and contractors on stand-by.

‘Overall, while there has been isolated issues with culverts, the majority of calls has been for surface water flooding and highways.

‘Today has, I believe, been a close call from rivers flooding in some areas. I will be discussing this with Natural Resources Wales in the coming days.’

Sarah Cook, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said heavy and persistent rain had brought ‘a risk of significant inland flooding in parts of south and mid Wales’.

She added that localised flooding was also possible in south-west England and Cumbria this morning.

Amid the weather warnings from the Met Office, some communities were told they would be cut off by flooded roads and that ‘homes and businesses are likely to be flooded, causing damage to some buildings’.

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said rain would gradually make its way eastwards across the UK, adding that today would largely be a ‘day of sunshine and scattered showers’.

He said: ‘By the time we get to lunchtime on Monday, the rain band should have cleared most parts of the UK.

‘It’s certainly a much brighter day, a little bit less windy, especially in the south, and that will allow temperatures just to climb a little bit.

‘So, for example, in the South East, it could get up to about 13°C or 14°C.’

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