Man killed after lorry crashes into river as Storm Chandra batters Britain

The lorry driver, who was in 60s, was found dead at the scene following the incident in the New Forest on Tuesday.

His death comes as Storm Chandra batters the UK, bringing severe weather warnings, flooding and heavy rain.

"We were called just after 1pm on Tuesday to a report that a lorry had gone into a river off Ringwood Road in North Gorley," a Hampshire Police spokesman said.

Read more: Cars stranded, major incident declared and flood warnings across the UK as Storm Chandra hits

"Inquiries are ongoing to establish the circumstances surrounding his death."

Hundreds of flood warnings and alerts are in place after Storm Chandra brought heavy rain across the country.

A major incident was declared in Somerset on Tuesday evening, with the council stating that the risk of flooding on the Somerset Levels and Moors "remains high as rainwater moves through the system".

On Wednesday morning, there were 99 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, and 260 flood alerts, where it is possible, across England.

In Wales, there were three flood warnings and 16 flood alerts in place, while there were eight flood warnings and eight flood alerts in place across Scotland.

Katesbridge in Northern Ireland saw 103mm of rain on Tuesday, according to the Met Office.

Somerset Council said on Tuesday evening that an estimated 50 properties have been affected by flooding across Ilminster, West Coker, Taunton, Mudford and West Camel.

Council leader Bill Revans said: "The decision to declare a major incident at this stage means we are well placed to respond to this ongoing situation.

"Storm Chandra brought more than 50mm of rain to parts of Somerset last night, on top of already saturated land, and this has caused widespread disruption.

"Please avoid travelling if you can and never attempt to drive through flood water.

"The weather forecast remains challenging so we will be working with colleagues in the emergency services to ensure we are prepared should the situation continue to deteriorate."

Images taken by Press Association photographers across the UK and Ireland showed search and rescue workers in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, vehicles on flooded roads in Kent and snowfall in Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham.

Firefighters in Devon and Somerset rescued people from 25 vehicles in floodwater on Tuesday morning.A spokesman for Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service confirmed there were no casualties.

Axminster Fire Station posted images of multiple vehicles in floodwater on Facebook.

Across south-west England there were multiple road closures because of flooding, which included the A30 in Devon between the B3174/B3180 junctions near Ottery St Mary and the B3184 for Exeter Airport.

The M5 southbound between Cullompton and Exeter was closed on Wednesday morning because of flooding, as was the A303 in Somerset between the A3088 and A37 and the A1 south of Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland.

In Scotland, the A82 north of Spean Bridge was closed southbound because of fallen trees, while the Bridge of Orchy on the A82 was closed to high-sided vehicles.

Storm Chandra also brought disruption to other parts of the South West, the south coast, and north of England, as well as Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Domestic flights were cancelled on routes serving Birmingham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heathrow, Leeds Bradford, London City, Manchester and Southampton airports on Tuesday.

Great Western Railway advised passengers not to travel between Exeter St Davids and both Okehampton and Barnstaple, with services in Somerset and Cornwall cancelled on Wednesday.

ScotRail said speed restrictions were expected to remain on services between Edinburgh, Inverness and Glasgow Queen Street until 10am on Wednesday, while National Rail warned of disruptions until Friday.

Storm Chandra is the latest storm to be named by the western Europe storm naming group list shared between the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.