UK facing further misery as more storms hit the country

Communities across Britain are facing more flooding misery as further heavy rain and storms batter the country.

A triple threat from the elements, with warnings in place for heavy rainfall, gale-force winds and snow, will pile on the problems for areas already struggling in the wake of record wet weather and a string of wild winter storms.

More than 1,000 homes have been evacuated in the Thames Valley and the West Country, and others have been left without electricity.

Ongoing flooding could continue to affect homes, businesses and land for at least another week, the Environment Agency said.

The Met Office predicted a return to the worst of the winter weather with almost every pocket of the UK experiencing downpours, winds or snow, much of it falling on already-saturated ground.

The agency has 23 severe flood warnings ,meaning risk to life, in force and hundreds more flood warnings and alerts across England and Wales.

Severe gales, large waves and high sea levels are threatening coastal flooding on the Dorset coast, while the south coast from Cornwall to East Sussex is also at an increased risk, the Environment Agency said.

Saturated ground could lead to further flooding around the country.

Peter Willison, of the Environment Agency (EA), told a Whitehall briefing: "We are likely to see more severe flood warnings along the south coast representing the risk from very strong and big waves.

“The rainfall that we will see today, that will bring river levels back up on the Thames and we expect levels on slow responding rivers like the Thames, like the Severn, to stay high for a number of days to come.

“This remains a very live event. I expect we will see further property flooding.” Firefighters on the Somerset Levels are asking parents to keep children away from flood water and in Dorset, members of the public are being urged to stay away from coastal areas this weekend as violent storms batter beaches, cliffs and promenades.

The extreme conditions will also increase the likelihood of landslips along the Jurassic Coast, posing a real threat to people on coastal paths, clifftops and beaches.

Many train services were disrupted this evening, with East Coast train company urging people to complete their journeys on the line as early as possible, as winds of up to 70mph are expected.

Speed restrictions were imposed on many southern England services where landslips have added to the flooding problems.

Passengers were advised journeys could take up to 60 minutes longer tonight. More temporary flood defences are being deployed across the Thames Valley, including at Chertsey in Surrey to protect up to 200 homes and at Staines in Berkshire, to protect around 150 homes.

The military has come to the aid of the most vulnerable as the crisis has deepened, with transport links disrupted and whole streets cut off as flood water rises to waist level in the worst-affected areas.

Major General Patrick Sanders, assistant chief of the defence staff, said 2,200 armed forces personnel were taking part in the flood relief operation, with a further 3,000 on stand-by.

Maj Gen Sanders said the tasks the troops had been undertaking had included filling sandbags, helping the elderly in and out of their flooded homes, and taking children to school, while a group of vehicle mechanics from the Household Cavalry Regiment had even rescued a swan.

The Duke of Cambridge and his brother Prince Harry joined colleagues from the armed forces in helping with the supply of sandbags to defend Datchet, Berkshire.

The Queen has even shown her support for Somerset farmers affected by the flooding on the Somerset Levels by contributing feed and bedding from the royal farms at Windsor, a spokesman for Buckingham Palace said.

Chief fire and rescue adviser Peter Holland said 70 per cent of England's fire and rescue services are involved in the flood and storm relief effort.

Mr Holland assured communities that fire engines were still available to tackle fires and that most of the diverted resources involves specialist equipment such as boats and water pumps.

The EA confirmed it had suspended plans to axe hundreds of jobs, as staff battle the elements alongside emergency services and local authorities, although concerns remained they would press ahead with redundancies after the flood waters receded.

About 17,000 people were still without power in North Wales, 48 hours after storms with winds of up to 108mph, in which one man was killed and hundreds stranded as transport networks were hit.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he is "very sorry" for the suffering caused by the extreme weather afflicting large swathes of the country, and repeated his pledge that "money is no object" in the relief effort.

PA