More than 100 flood warnings as rain continues across Britain

Parts of the UK which have already been saturated by heavy rainfall and flooding are braced as forecasters warn of further wet weather.

The Environment Agency (EA) said there were 106 flood warnings in place for England on Thursday morning, including six severe warnings indicating lives were in danger in communities near the Welsh border.

Persistent rain has seen the Met Office raise yellow weather warnings across parts of southern Scotland and Strathclyde, northwestern England and Wales as recovery efforts continue following Storm Dennis.

ITV News Midlands Reporter Ben Chapman has said the water levels on the River Severn have dropped but the rain could make levels rise again.

Rain fell heavily across northern and western parts of Britain overnight, Met Office forecaster Mark Wilson said, adding it was likely to continue until about 3pm.

The village of Capel Curig in north Wales received 54 mm of rain in 24 hours, compared to an average of 97 mm of rain for the whole of February.

Cumbria’s Shap, which recorded 120 mm across February 2019, saw 52 mm fall before day broke on Thursday.

But some relief reprieve was on the way later in the day, Mr Wilson said.

“The rain will clear through the west in the afternoon then through the southeast later,” he said.

People can look forward to “sunshine and showers” later in the day, the forecaster added.

A man walks through flood water, as pumps and flood barriers help to keep the water from flooding homes in Gloucestershire. Credit: PA

More weather warnings are likely on Friday with heavy rain expected across western Scotland, Yorkshire and parts of Cumbria.

Gusty winds are also expected to strengthen at the end of the working week.

Mr Wilson urged people to be mindful of warnings as they go about their day.

"There could be some pretty tricky conditions on the roads, make sure you give yourself a bit more time with travel because there’s some fairly heavy rain around," he said.

Further flooding has hit Pentre in the Rhondda Valley following continued heavy rain across Wales.

Rhondda MP Chris Bryant shared a video from Pleasant Street showing floodwaters creeping up towards people's front doors.

The EA reported England has already received 141% of its average February rainfall so far this month courtesy of Dennis, adding that river levels in the Colne, Ribble, Calder, Aire, Trent, Severn, Wye, Lugg, and Derwent all set new records in recent days.

Jeremy Corbyn visited Pontypridd in South Wales on Thursday meeting residents and volunteers in communities affected by Storm Dennis.

He said: "What's been great is the way the community's come together and supported each other, that's fantastic, but the issue is how do we prevent people's homes being flooded in the future and build better flood defences?

"The Welsh Government has invested a lot in flood defences, well done them, but there are big issues facing the whole country of climate change which does mean that these horrific weather events are likely to become more frequent."

The Labour leader accused Boris Johnson of neglecting those affected and was showing his "true colours" by not convening the Government's emergency committee Cobra.

Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Nadhim Zahawi defended Mr Johnson's response telling ITV News the government was "working day and night".

"The best support, the prime minister is giving, is to make sure his ministers, his government is responding and responding effectively by getting the money... as we speak we are delivering £2,500 per impacted business in compensation," the Stratford-upon-Avon MP told ITV News.

Meanwhile, fundraising efforts have continued for those affected by the floods, with multiple communities in Wales starting collections.

On Wednesday, The Frost actor Michael Sheen launched a campaign to raise money for affected communities in Wales, raising half of its £10,000 goal within the first five hours.