Soldiers arrive to aid South Yorkshire communities hit by severe flooding

Nearly 100 soldiers have arrived in South Yorkshire to aid communities which have been cut off by flooding.

Personnel from the Light Dragoons were spotted laying down sandbags in Stainforth, Doncaster, on Wednesday morning and attempting to shore up the village's bridge.

It is hoped that by doing so they will improve access to Fishlake, one of the areas which has been worst affected by last week's deluge.

Sunshine and clear skies greeted around 80 men from the regiment on Wednesday, with a further 80 from the Royal Anglians set to be deployed later in the morning.

The help comes amid fears that further bad weather could be on the way on Thursday, with the Met Office issuing a yellow warning for rain for the whole day covering a vast region from Portsmouth to Hull.

There are 34 flood warnings still in place across England, in locations from Somerset and East Sussex in the South, to as far north as the Lower River Nidd near Harrogate in Yorkshire, and the Holderness Drain in east Yorkshire.

But five severe "danger to life" warnings on the River Don in South Yorkshire have been downgraded.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister warned there could be further flooding across the country after chairing a meeting of the Government's emergency committee.

Boris Johnson also announced relief funding would be made available for those affected by the floods and said that funding for locals councils to help affected households would be made available to the tune of £500 per eligible household.

Up to £2,500 would be available for small to medium-sized businesses which have suffered severe impacts and which are not covered by insurance.

The Prime Minister also urged people in affected areas to heed the warnings of emergency services, after some residents in Fishlake remained in their homes despite being advised by Doncaster Council to evacuate.

The announcements came after both Labour and the Liberal Democrats criticised the Government's response to flooding, which is rapidly turning into an election issue.

Jeremy Corbyn said that Number 10's response had been "woeful", while Jo Swinson said that the Conservatives were not taking the issue seriously enough.