'Power restored' in North East

Northern Powergrid has said today that it remained confident that all properties safe to receive an electricity supply after Thursday's floods and lightening storms would have power restored by the end of today.

The number of customers without power in the North East and in a position to have their supply restored was 61, a spokesman said.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman told the BBC today that she wanted to “praise” emergency services and the local authority for “swinging into action” in dealing with adverse weather conditions.

It was very important that people listened out for flood warnings and also took out insurance, she said.

"It's the Government's job to try to make sure that insurance is universally available and affordable, we are very close to an agreement with the insurance industry that will really take that forward into the future."

Hundreds of rail engineers are working to repair damaged tracks in the North East of England after torrential rain in the region.

Tyne and Wear Metro network is running a reduced train service, with replacement buses operating between some stations.

Rail services were badly disrupted as rain tore away track beds at Scremerston, Northumberland, and landslides in the Lake District and Scottish Highlands caused more problems.

It led to thousands being stranded as no trains could pass between Newcastle and Edinburgh.

The route has since been reopened, but with journey times extended by 90 minutes.

A normal service is expected to run between London and Leeds today.

The Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman is to visit the North East of England as the region begins the clear up after torrential rain.

Hundreds of rail engineers are working to repair damaged tracks which disrupted services between England and Scotland.

Northern Powergrid have aid 2,450 customers in the North East were without electricity after lightning strikes damaged supply lines.

The Environment Agency has issued seven flood alerts across areas in the Midlands, as well as two warnings in the North East and one in the Anglican region.

People are advised to be prepared.

One of the main railways between Scotland and England has closed for the second time in 24 hours, as flooding brought chaos to the transport network.

Trains are unable to run between Glasgow and Carlisle on the West Coast mainline because of a problem with overhead wires. Buses are replacing trains between Carlisle and Glasgow.

The wife of retired teacher Michael Ellis who died after being swept away in yesterday's floods in Shropshire today described him as "a gentle caring man" and the "most wonderful husband".

For more on this story, visit ITV Central.

Incredible footage of heavy storms that hit Leicestershire on Thursday amid the extreme weather experienced in the Midlands. For more on the heavy rain in this region visit the ITV Central website.