Flash flooding leaves cars trapped and roads closed in parts of Devon

Pictures show the extent of the flooding in Newton Poppleford Credit: Newton Poppleford Community Group

Parts of Devon have been hit by flash floods, affecting businesses, homes and leaving some people trapped in their cars.

It comes as the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms across parts of Devon and Somerset on Tuesday 9 May.

The warning remains in place until 10pm.

Sidmouth

Heavy downpours in Sidmouth and surrounding villages have caused rivers and streams to burst their banks.

Emergency services are at the scene - ITV News West Country has been told that more than 40 firefighters have been helping to evacuate homes and prevent further damage.

Those in flooded properties have been advised to use rugs, bedsheets and blankets to stem the immediate flooding and where necessary, head upstairs for safety.

  • Footage shows torrents of water rushing down roads in Sidmouth.

Heavy rain and floods causing traffic issues

Heavy traffic has been reported on roads across Devon and diversions have been put in place in some areas.

The A3052 is closed between the Exmoor turn-off and the Budleigh Salterton turn-off.

Road and traffic monitoring service Inrix has reported that Honiton Road in both directions is blocked.

It added: "Very slow traffic due to flooding between The BP Station and The Car Wash. Reported some vehicles have become stuck."

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has issued advice to drivers, after receiving calls from people stuck in flood water.

'We've never seen anything like it in 20 years' - pub floods

The Golden Lion pub in Tipton St John has been completely flooded by the downpour.

Pub owner Michelle Tessier told ITV News West Country: "Obviously we had the start of a thunderstorm and then it started raining really really heavily but we didn't think anything of it.

"We were open for lunch as normal and then a couple of our customers said 'oh look, there's a lot of water in the road, is that normal?'

  • Michelle speaks to ITV News presenters Kylie Pentelow and Sabet Choudhury from flooded pub

"I said 'no that's not normal'- it looked like a river running down the road. Within 15 to 20 minutes it just came teeming down.

"The next thing we knew all of our doors were starting to fill up. We were just like an island surrounded by water.

"We've been here for 20 years and have never seen anything like it."