Sixty areas in England and Wales have been issued with flood warnings, as heavy rain is forecast across most parts of the UK.

Residents in Morpeth have been told to take ‘immediate action’ as a precaution against flooding after the River Wansbeck burst its banks. Some residents in the city have already evacuated their homes.

In parts of North Yorkshire six people had to be rescued from vehicles stranded in floodwater overnight and Fire and Rescue Service received more than 80 calls to incidents related to the heavy rain.

Five people also had to be rescued from their vehicles in the Skeeby area while one person was rescued in Whashton.

Rachel Sweeney, who works for Tyne Tees television, said on Twitter: “My car is stuck! I’m in a van with a prisoner and two cops called Emma and Alec!”

Several cars had to be removed from standing floodwater on the A1, where the River Swale intersects the road at Brompton on Swale.

Forecasters said: “We’ve had a month’s worth of rain in the last 24 hours which is causing the disruption.

“This is all due to a deep area of slow moving low pressure that will be moving south across the Irish sea today bring heavy rain to the West Country and west midlands later.”

UK Flood Alert : Merseyside

Ten people were taken to safety on inflatable rafts by firefighters after flooding near their homes in St Helens.

Merseyside emergency services were called to Blackbrook Road, St Helens yesterday afternoon after water flowed over a nearby Brook’s Banks following heavy rain.

A large number of calls related to flooded properties in the Harrogate area, including a school at Summerbridge, where fire crews helped to place sandbags to try to divert the water away from the building.

The flooding affected the junction of Blackbrook Road and Westend Road. Station manager Steve Pratt said: “There were people who needed our help after floodwater entered the ground floor of a number of properties in Blackbrook Road.

“Our firefighters and the Search and Rescue Team train to deal with this type of situation and put safe systems in place to ensure people were brought to safety.”

UK Flood Alert : Durham

Seventy six properties in Durham city centre have also been identified as at risk of flooding and heavy rain and wind is expected to continue for the next 24 hours, with over 200 flood warnings and alerts in place.

The Environment Agency has around 40 flood warnings and 163 flood alerts after almost four inches of rain fell on Sunday and Monday.

Network Rail reported there were no train services between Newcastle and Edinburgh because of the heavy rain, and passengers would be diverted via Carlisle.

ome areas could receive their average rainfall for the whole of September in 24 hours, raising the risk of flooding from rivers and surface water.

The Pennines are likely to receive the heaviest rain, leading to an increased risk of flooding for communities around the rivers Aire and Calder.

Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland are also facing more rain and high winds overnight.

Alison Baptiste, flood risk manager at the Environment Agency, said: “We are already seeing travel disruption due to the wet weather and could well see flooding across the country this week.

“We strongly urge people to sign up to flood warnings, keep a close eye on local weather forecasts and be prepared for the possibility of flooding.

“We also ask that people stay safe by staying away from swollen rivers and not attempting to drive through floodwater.”

More than 100 properties have reportedly been flooded, with 42 properties in the South West, 35 in the Midlands and 20 in the South East affected.

There has been widespread disruption and long delays to rail services in the South West, the Midlands, northern England and Wales, with the lines between Exeter and Bristol, and Wakefield and Leeds among those hit.

Motorists were being warned not to drive through floodwater and take care on low-lying roads which were flooded. The AA said it had been called out to more than 200 vehicles that had driven through or were stuck in floodwater.

Devon and Somerset Fire Service said it had responded to dozens of reports of flooding, mainly between 6am and 10am on Monday.

Severe flooding was reported in Wedmore, near Wells, Somerset, due to a swollen river – with water up to 3ft deep in some properties.

The Avon Fire and Rescue Service also said it had received a large number of calls, and people had to be rescued from cars in water and flooding in homes in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.

Parts of the UK are also experiencing high winds, with gusts of up to 60mph inland and up to 70mph on the South East coast, and forecasters expect the severe gale conditions will spread to northeast England and eastern Scotland.

Kew Gardens in London was closed on Monday “as a precaution” after a woman was killed there on Sunday by a falling tree branch.

An air ambulance was sent and extensive efforts were made to revive the woman, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

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