More flooding expected as weather gets worse

The South East and mid Wales have been worst hit by the rain which has battered Britain, and there is still no silver lining to the cloudy skies as more wet weather is forecast for the rest of the week.

The weather is expected to take another turn for the worse, with Friday predicted to be particularly grim.

It has now been raining across parts of the south east for the last 36 hours. West Sussex has been the wettest place with around 71mm rain recorded, well over a month’s worth of rain in just a day and half. Other south-eastern counties are not too far behind. Brighton has had nearly three times the average rainfall for the whole month in 11 days.

Lewis Vaughan Jones reports from West Sussex.

The Environment Agency has issued more than 40 flood alerts across England and Wales, and is urging the public to prepare for the worst.

There are 39 alerts in the South East, 1 in the South West, 4 across Anglia, 1 across the Midlands and 1 in the North East.

Flooding is expected:

• River Colne at Colney Heath, Herts, including North Mymms

• The Aldingbourne and Lidsey Rifes at Felpham, West Sussex, including Whitfield Close, the A259, Links Avenue, and Butlins Holiday Centre

• The Aldingbourne Rife at Bersted, West Sussex, including Addison Way, Riverside Caravan Park, and South Bersted industrial estate

• Properties near the River Ouzel between Simpson and Woolstone, near Milton Keynes, including Monkston Park

• River Ouzel at Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, including areas from Leighton Road to Firs Path

Scotland on the other hand is enjoying usually dry weather for this time of year. Julian Mayes, a forecaster for Meteogroup, explains: