Severe winter weather in the East

The freezing weather has forced Fakenham racecourse to call off one of its most valuable meetings of the year tomorrow (January 15 2017).

Tens of thousands of pounds in prize money would have been on offer at the Norfolk track, but the forecast of another cold night tonight, and the chance of snow tomorrow morning has forced the course to cancel the meeting.

Floods Minister Thérèse Coffey has thanked all the teams who worked together to protect East coast communities from the risk represented by the storm surge.

This picture sums up the power of the North Sea surge.

Even though homes were not flooded, the sea left a pile of debris all along the road fringing the Norfolk coast. Parts of it are still underwater.

The North Sea surge may not have overwhelmed defences, but it has left parts of the coastline underwater.

The A149 is closed at Old Woman's Lane in Cley, while the road at Salthouse is covered in debris.

George Baldock tweeted this picture saying the water had dropped overnight but the main road is still flooded.

1am: High tides have passed through Jaywick and Clacton-on-Sea in Essex this morning without any major reports of flooding so far.

Around 200 residents in Jaywick had gathered overnight at a rest centre after villagers were advised to evacuate their properties following warnings the sea water could rise by up to a depth of three metres.

But by one o'clock on Saturday morning the sea wall in the Essex village had still not been breached.

Suffolk Police say residents evacuated in Lowestoft can now return to their homes after the high tide passed without major issues.

However there remains the risk of flooding in areas south of Lowestoft, and residents in those areas are being asked to await further guidance before returning.

Lowestoft's new portable flood defences have held up during tonight's high tides.

It was the first major test of the defences which protect the town side of the bascule bridge.