Dozens of flood alerts are in place as driving rain and winds of up to 80mph sweep across the UK, bringing chaos for Christmas travellers.

The stormy weather started this morning in the South West and is moving eastwards and northwards as the day continues.

Almost all of the UK will be affected by the relentless rain falling on already saturated ground and winds whipping to 70-80mph in eastern and central areas through this afternoon and overnight.

Around 2,700 homes are without power in Cornwall after high winds brought down power lines.

The Dartford QEII bridge is about to be closed until 4am tomorrow morning and the M48 Severn Bridge is closed to high-sided vehicles.

An Essex police spokesman said: “The tunnels will remain open to help maintain the flow of traffic, but congestion is expected so drivers are advised to seek alternative routes if possible or avoid the Thurrock and Dartford areas of Essex and Kent.”

The Met Office’s has issued more than 100 amber “be prepared” warnings for London, southeast and southwest England, and South Wales.

Seven areas, including three in the South West, have been issued with “immediate action required” flood warnings.

Localised flooding is possible and winds of 50-60mph are forecast in inland areas, gusting up to 80mph along the coas

“There will be heavy downpours bringing 20-40mm of rainfall quite widely and over 60mm likely across parts of the high ground.

“As the rain is falling on already saturated ground that could cause both surface water and river flooding in these areas.”

But it is the trains that are expected to bear the brunt of the nasty weather and at least 21 train companies are predicting changes to timetables and cancelled services.

An emergency go-slow limit of 50mph is likely on many routes.

Train bosses say “hundreds of engineers” will be on call over the next two days to deal with any blocked tracks or technical problems.

Passengers are being urged to check the latest information before setting out.

Network Rail Managing Director Robin Gisby said: “I want to be very clear that our priority is running as many trains as we can safely, rather than worrying about hitting the timetable bang on.”

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