Stranded drivers rescued from flooded M5 as month's worth of rain hits— with more flood warnings in place

27 September 2024, 09:41 | Updated: 27 September 2024, 11:18

Rescuers freed drivers stranded on the M5, train stations became submerged, and schools were closed after a month's worth of rain battered Britain.

Part of the motorway in Gloucestershire remains closed due to the sheer volume of water on the road surface. Fire crews are at the scene to help rescue stranded drivers whose vehicles are stuck in the flooding, with huge traffic jams in the area.

The flooding comes amid further flood warnings for huge parts of the country, covering the south, Wales and West Midlands.

The weather has caused havoc for people on trains, as well as on the road. In Wymondham, Norfolk, a downed tree between Norwich and Ely is causing delays of at least an hour.

Flooding at a Wellington station has blocked trains going through Shropshire, leaving the waterlogged station looking like a Venice canal.

Services between Aberystwyth in West Wales, as well as on the Chiltern Main Line in Oxfordshire between Banbury and Bicester North are also closed due to flooding.

The Met Office issued an amber warning for areas of the Midlands and the south of the country overnight, with the advisory expiring at 6am.

National Highways says the M5 is closed northbound between J16 and J14 toward Almondsbury as emergency services work to clear the flooding.

Read more: Travel chaos as motorway and railway lines blocked by flash flooding

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As of 5am, the Environment Agency had 63 flood warnings in place across England, meaning flooding is expected, and 120 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible.

More flooding is expected to hit parts of England in the early hours of Friday before outbreaks of heavy rain start to ease, according to the Met Office.

The forecaster issued an amber warning for areas of the Midlands and the south of the country, which came into force at 6pm on Thursday and will last for 12 hours.

Yellow rain warnings were already in place for large parts of England and Wales and western parts of Northern Ireland.

Areas affected by the amber warning - including Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire and the West Midlands - were struck by flash floods as the Met Office warned the regions could see 30-40mm of rainfall within three hours.

Meteorologist Greg Dewhurst told the PA news agency that northern and central parts of England and Wales had been hit the hardest, with rain expected to move further south overnight and into Friday morning.

He said: "There will continue to be localised flooding. A lot of these areas have been hit by rain in the past few weeks which means the ground is already saturated.

"The amber warning is in place until 6am and the wider yellow warning will be lifted at 9am. We're expecting it to then ease up and become a bit drier.

"But rivers often take time to respond so we're expecting disruption to continue in central and southern parts throughout the morning. Those planning to travel on Friday should factor this into their journey times."

The rain is expected to clear during Friday leaving conditions much colder on Saturday.