Flood warnings in place as M5 closed and thunderstorms coming

Areas have already seen 'extreme conditions' and 'severe flooding' with worse weather on the way

Flood alerts remain in place across England amid warnings that thunderstorms and heavy rain will cause travel disruption. There were 79 alerts cautioning of possible flooding in place on Wednesday morning with flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, in place for 11 locations, including two in Bristol.

Flood warnings were updated overnight for the River Anker in Warwickshire, and areas around the River Blackwater near Southampton. After a weather warning for thunderstorms in the south of England ended at 3am, the Met Office said showery rain would push into eastern parts of England over Wednesday, with sunny spells developing in the south.

Other warnings were issued for Gog Brook in Warwick, Bunches Brook from Broadway to Childswickham in Worcestershire, and for low-lying properties near the River Brue and Glastonbury Millstream from Lovington to Highbridge in Somerset. A warning was also issued for the B1040 Thorney to Whittlesey Road to the south of the River Nene near Peterborough.

On Tuesday evening, an MP warned that parts of Northumberland were experiencing “severe flooding” amid “extreme conditions”. Blyth and Ashington MP Ian Lavery said his office had “taken numerous calls about the serious flooding” in south-east Northumberland.

In a post on social media, Northumberland county councillor Scott Dickinson said: “A number of roads have been closed in the Blyth area and NCC teams are at the scene, along with crews from Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service, Northern Powergrid and Northumbria Water.”

National Highways said the M5 in Somerset was temporarily closed southbound on Tuesday afternoon due to flooding after heavy rainfall.