Skip to main contentSkip to navigationSkip to navigation
Flood
A man stands by his car in flood water in Milby, northern England. Photograph: Nigel Roddis/Reuters
A man stands by his car in flood water in Milby, northern England. Photograph: Nigel Roddis/Reuters

Christmas travellers face major disruption due to rain

This article is more than 11 years old
Heavy downpours and flooding close roads and stretches of railway, with forecasters warning all parts of UK will be wet

Train passengers and motorists face major disruptions to their Christmas travel on Saturday with heavy rain and flooding closing roads and stretches of rail track.

The Environment Agency issued four severe flood warnings and 50 flood warnings for the south-west of England, and around 200 people in Helston in Cornwall were evacuated from their homes. Another 28 flood warnings were in place in the Midlands, with the same number in place across other regions of England and Wales, and a further 16 in Scotland.

The town of Braunton in north Devon was effectively cut off, with homes and shops under water, after the river Caen burst its banks.

Tom Tobler, a forecaster with MeteoGroup said "heavy and persistent" rain would affect almost every part of the UK on Saturday, after heavy rain swept the country overnight.

He said: "The south-west has seen the worst of it as the rain moved in there during yesterday evening. Plymouth has recorded 49mm (2in) of rain in the last 12 hours, and across the south-west and south Wales there has been 15mm to 30mm fairly widely.

"Cornwall may have another 15mm of rain to come, and it wouldn't take that much to create extra problems. The rain is pretty bad news for that part of the country, but it is going to be a wet day everywhere, really."

A signalling problem caused by a fire on Friday that damaged cables and signalling equipment at Preston Park was also causing major disruption near Brighton.

Flooding and landslides were causing problems in the south-west. There were no trains between Plymouth and Tiverton Parkway or Taunton, and a replacement bus service was to run from Exeter St Davids to Tiverton Parkway and Taunton, but was expected to be busy. Flooding was also causing disruption between Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall, with bus services replacing trains.

A landslip disrupted trains in the Glazebrook area, near Warrington. The First TransPennine Express service from Liverpool Lime Street to Manchester Piccadilly was diverted via Newton-le-Willows, and buses were replacing trains from Warrington Central to Manchester Oxford Road. There was also a reduced service running from Manchester Piccadilly to Liverpool Lime Street. Arriva Trains Wales told passengers to avoid any rail travel in south Wales.

First Great Western warned that because of the flooding disrupting services to the south-west, services operating from London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads towards Exeter St Davids, Plymouth and Penzance and in the opposite direction would terminate at either Taunton or Tiverton Parkway, while other services due to operate through, to or from Penzance wwould start or terminate at Exeter St Davids.

The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said: "Exceptional weather conditions are having a serious impact on the transport network at what is already a difficult time of year.

"The Highways Agency and Network Rail have emergency staff working round the clock to keep motorways and rail tracks open where it is safe to do so while train operators are working hard to keep services running.

"We urge people travelling through the most affected areas to plan ahead and check the latest travel information. We will continue to ensure everything possible is being done to help people get to where they need to be for Christmas."

Flooding was also affecting the road network. The A19 was affected at the junction with the A139 in County Durham, with one lane on the southbound entry slip closed and the northbound exit slip road shut.

There were also delays on the A27 eastbound between B2144 and A285 near Chichester because of flooding, the A1 near Gateshead, the A64 near Norton-on-Derwent, M3 Junction 1 and M50 Junction 5.

The cancellation of the Heathrow Express rail service in London forced many of the 123,000 departing passengers to take the tube instead.

Heathrow is due to handle a further 114,000 departures on Sunday and 88,000 on Christmas Eve.

Two mainline rail strikes that threatened travel chaos over the Christmas period were called off, but on the London Underground, the train drivers' union Aslef is stopping work on Boxing Day.

More on this story

More on this story

  • UK weather: rain prompts fears of landslides and further floods

  • Heavy rain raises threat of Christmas Day flooding

  • Flood warnings after more rain in south-west England - video

  • Christmas travel plans face disruption

  • Heavy rain and floods hit roads and rail to spoil Christmas getaway for millions

  • Woman rescued from floodwaters as Britain braces for more bad weather

  • Christmas travel plans face disruption

Most viewed

Most viewed