The misery continued for thousands of householders and travellers as torrential rain once again pounded down on parts of the UK this weekend. More wet weather is on the way, but the Met Office says it may be replaced by a fresh hazard – ice and snow – later in the week.
Up to 60mm of rain is expected, much of it falling on ground already flooded after days of atrocious weather across southern England, the Midlands and Wales. Alerts were in place at notorious flood-risk hotspots including Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire and Upton upon Severn and Evesham in Worcestershire. Eight flood warnings were in place for the River Avon in the Midlands and four for the River Severn.
The Environment Agency believes around 400 properties in England and Wales have been flooded so far. It has sent out warnings to 9,000 homes and businesses. In all, 44 warnings (indicating flooding is expected) and 155 alerts (warning that flooding is possible) were in place as darkness fell on Saturday.
In Hertfordshire, police were searching for a man who is believed to have fallen into a canal in Watford after getting separated from his friends in fog. The 50-year-old was walking along a towpath in the early hours of Saturday. Fire crews searched the waist-deep canal but could find no sign of him.
An elderly man feared drowned in the River Thames at Sonning in Berkshire remains missing.
The south west of England and parts of south-east Wales were bearing the brunt of the rain on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Eddy Carroll, the Met Office's chief forecaster, said: "The current very unsettled run of weather is set to continue, with further spells of wet and windy weather expected across the country over the next few days. Further rain moving in from the west on Sunday continues the risk for further flooding and travel disruption.
"Strong winds may add to the potential for travel disruption, especially across southern Britain. Winds gusting to 50 or 60 mph are expected across southern counties of England with severe gale or possibly storm force winds over the English Channel."
The Met Office said it expected the weather to become drier and colder in most areas by the middle of the week, and overnight frost could bring the risk of some icy roads after the recent rain. It said that snow was possible in Scotland and northern and eastern England next weekend.
So far the only confirmed fatality has been a man who suffered a heart attack after being trapped in his vehicle when it became wedged under a bridge in Chew Stoke, near Bristol, but tales of motorists stranded in the floods continue to emerge.
Three elderly people were rescued from their car when it was swept down a swollen river near Alcester in Warwickshire on Friday. The silver Vauxhall Corsa was carried for more than 500 metres before a local farmer managed to bring it to the water's edge, West Midlands ambulance service said. Firefighters using rescue boats pulled the two women and one man out of the windows. They were treated for shock and hypothermia.
Darron Burness, the AA's head of special operations, said on Saturday: "With more heavy rain forecast across the Midlands, Wales and the south-west, road conditions in the affected areas are likely to only get worse as the ground is so saturated. Even if you think you know your local roads, don't be complacent, as flash flooding continues to be a real risk and is catching people out."
Work to clear a landslip at Mevagissey harbour in Cornwall has been completed, but the high winds and rain have meant very few fishermen have ventured out. Harbourmaster Hugh Bowles said: "Obviously fishing is completely weather-dependent, so it really does have an impact on fishermen wanting to get out on the water, particularly those with smaller, under-10-metre boats."
Devon and Somerset fire and rescue service pumped 1m litres of water from fields below the Grand Western Canal near Tiverton after it burst its banks. Network Rail said trains were likely to be suspended between Exeter and Bristol until Monday because tracks have been flooded.
John Curtin, head of incident management at the Environment Agency, said: "We would urge people to continue to be prepared for flooding, sign up for Environment Agency flood warnings, keep up to date with the latest situation, and stay away from dangerous floodwater.
"Our teams have been out around the clock over the last few days to minimise the risks and prepare for flooding, and we are continuing to deploy teams across the country to keep communities safe."
It was not only humans who were struggling with the conditions: a one-year-old monkey at the Wild Futures monkey sanctuary near Looe in Cornwall had to be resuscitated after falling ill in the wet weather.
The sanctuary has been badly hit by the conditions: trees have been brought down by the wind and parts of the centre flooded. The poor summer had already meant the charity was £60,000 worse off than last year. Hayley Dann, its fundraising manager, said: "It has been a really horrible couple of days."
