A421: highways boss warns of 'dangers' after canoeists and swimmers seen in road floodwater

• ITV News Anglia's Rosie Dowsing reports from the scene of the flooded A421 in Bedfordshire.

Highways bosses are warning people to stay away from a "dangerous" flooded road after people have been seen canoeing and even swimming at the site.

The regional head of the Highways Agency said after heavy rain overnight, the water on the A421 in Bedfordshire was now 14ft deep in places.

Cars are still submerged in the floodwater which has blocked the key stretch of dual carriageway and forced drivers into long diversions.

Pictures from the scene show what appears to be a vast lake of water stretching far beyond the edges of the road and under a bridge.

The overnight deluge has also left schools in the area shut and other roads closed.

Martin Fellows, Regional Director of National Highways in the East of England warned people of the dangers of floodwater.

"Please stay away from the water. We've had somebody trying to canoe down here and people swimming in it as well.

"It is dangerous - it is dangerous to drive through, it is dangerous to access this water - please stay away and stay safe."

The A421, which links the A6 at Bedford to the M1 at junction 13 near Brogborough and Marston Moretaine, has been closed in both directions since Sunday evening.

National Highways had originally said they hoped to have the road open by Friday but despite working around the clock since the weekend, they are warning it could stay shut for a "prolonged period."

Mr Fellows said unprecedented amounts of rainfall had made the problem worse and he could not give a timescale on when the road might reopen.

"I am very reluctant to say when. It does depend on the weather to some degree.

"If it stopped raining that would help us to do things quicker but it's likely to take days before we are in a position to clear the water and then we'll have a better understanding of whether there is damage to the road surface and what repairs are needed.

"This is the worst flooding we've ever seen in this location. We've had flooding here before and we have a pumping station here that normally would pump water away when we get excessive amounts of rainfall but unfortunately the pumping station has been flooded itself and is submerged underwater.

"We've never seen such a significant amount of rain in such a short space of time - I think we had six inches of rain in a 24-hour period."

Mr Fellows said his teams would look at the drainage of the road once the water was cleared, as well as checking the safety of the carriageway.

He said four miles of pipes were being laid so that high-volume pumps can carry water away from the area more swiftly than ferrying it in tankers.

"We've had flooding problems here since the weekend and its continuing to cause us difficulties, primarily because we have to protect all the properties and land along the A421."

Mr Fellows said the water had to be pumped away safely so land and properties nearby would not be flooded.

He pleaded with the public to respect his workers who were working day and night to clear the problem.

The highways boss also asked drivers to be patient, adding that his team appreciated other roads were closed locally by the floods and travelling in Bedfordshire was very difficult at the moment.

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