Extreme weather in Britain

UK floods: More rain forecast after downpour leaves homes underwater

One man is killed in road crash as a month's worth of rain falls in 24 hours

the Guardian,

8 July, 2012

Flood-hit communities across the UK are counting the cost of torrential downpours that left homes underwater and one man dead.

The worst of the weather, in which a month's worth of rain pelted parts of the country in 24 hours, is thought to be over, but forecasters say rain will continue in heavy bursts across the country for at least another week.

Silverstone has said it is in a position to "accommodate all ticket holders" for Sunday's British Grand Prix after up to 30,000 spectators with public car park passes were advised to stay away from Saturday's qualifying session.

Constant rainfall turned car parks at the site into quagmires, but it was hoped that leaving those car parks empty would allow them to be used on Sunday, when a capacity crowd of 125,000 is expected.

Silverstone encouraged ticket holders to turn up for the race, but asked them to leave plenty of time and share cars if possible.

Devon was worst hit on Saturday as three severe flood warnings were issued, while a man in his early 20s was killed in East Tynedale, Northumberland, when his car crashed off a rain-soaked road.

The environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, is due to visit the Met Office in Exeter on Sunday for a briefing.

The west of England will receive some respite from the weather on Sunday, but the stormy conditions are likely to continue throughout the week as an area of low pressure from the west brings showers and longer spells of rain.

Billy Payne, a forecaster for Meteogroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said: "The worst of the showers today are going to be across East Anglia, Lincolnshire and the south-east, with longer spells of rain mixed in there as well. There will also be outbreaks of rain for northern and western Scotland and Northern Ireland."

After more than two inches of rain fell in just 18 hours in Devon on Saturday, the Environment Agency put parts of the rivers Yealm, Axe and Burton on the highest-grade flood warning, meaning they posed a "danger to life".

Residents and emergency services in Yealmbridge, Devon, were left with a huge clean-up operation after homes were overwhelmed with up to 1.8 metres (6ft) of water when the Yealm burst through sandbags. Tarmac on one of the roads in the hamlet was ripped under the weight of water that cascaded down the road.

In nearby Yealmpton about 40 homes and 75 residents on one side of the river were affected as water gushed into houses. The river reached a record high of 2.3 metres (7.5ft), the Environment Agency said. Some residents were being sheltered in a local rescue centre.

Homes in the Leicestershire village of Sheepy Magna were evacuated after flooding.

In Dorset, two people stranded on top of their car near the river Brid were assisted by coastguard rescue teams, as was a man stranded in his wheelchair at Burton Bradstock.

MeteoGroup said Dunkeswell in Devon had 53mm (2ins) of rain between 6pm on Friday and midday on Saturday, while Exeter saw 43mm.