Britain braced for more torrential rain and flooding

A pensioner had to be rescued from his car after becoming trapped in flood waters.

Water-logged communities across Britain are braced for more torrential rain and flooding overnight with northern England and North Wales likely to be the worst affected.

Heavy showers are forecast in Wiltshire, Dorset and central southern England, while gale-force winds are likely to hit the northern coast of Cornwall, the north east coast of England and parts of Wales.

North of England Correspondent Martin Geissler reports from North Yorkshire:

The Environment Agency is predicting river levels to swell overnight with the River Severn being of particular concern.

The A417 at Maisemore has already flooded, is closed and will not be open in the morning so drivers will need to find an alternative route for travelling.

The River Severn at Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, is expected to peak at 4.8m - a metre less than the 2007 peak - overnight or early tomorrow morning.

The Environment Agency issued 185 flood warnings for England and Wales - where flooding is expected and immediate action is required.

There are also 286 flood alerts in place - where flooding is possible and communities are warned to be prepared.

ire fighters prepare to pump water away from behind the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. Credit: PA Wire

Heavy rain and strong winds have ravaged parts of the south west and Midlands with acres of farmland, roads and homes damaged by floods.

A pensioner had to be rescued from his car after becoming trapped in flood waters under a railway bridge in Northamptonshire.

ITV News Correspondent Emily Morgan reports on the dramatic incident:

Over the weekend, a 21-year-old woman was killed and two people were seriously injured in Western Way, Exeter, when they were crushed by a tree as wild winds whipped southern England, and a 50-year-old man died after falling into a canal in Watford.

It followed the death on Thursday of a man who was killed when his car became wedged under a bridge near a ford in Rectory Fields, Chew Stoke, Somerset.

Oliver Smith clears his mother's home in Malmesbury after it was flooded over the weekend. Credit: PA Wire

The Environment Secretary Owen Paterson told the House of Commons more than 900 properties had been flooded, including up to 500 in the South West alone.

More than a dozen home were flooded in the village of Kempsey, Worcestershire, after a £1.5 million defence system failed to deal with the deluge.

ITV News Correspondent Rupert Evelyn reports from Kempsey:

Mr Paterson derided reports that the Government was struggling to secure a new deal with flood insurers for vulnerable homes as "complete nonsense".

It was claimed that hundreds of thousands of homes may be left without flood cover due to a row between ministers and the insurance industry over how future flooding bills would be covered.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) had claimed that talks about a "safety net" deal to ensure those in flood-risk areas can continue to afford their policies were at "crisis point".