Britons brace for a week of downpours as Met Office issues warning for rain and floods

Heavy rain is again set to hit Britain today, with experts warning of flooding in large parts of south-east England after chaotic scenes yesterday saw cars submerged under water and rail stations forced to close.

The Met Office has issued a yellow alert, which ran overnight until 10am this morning, covering an area stretching from Chichester in West Sussex to Canterbury in Kent.

Meteorologists say a number of homes and businesses could be hit by the deluge and public transport may again be affected. 

Areas of London yesterday suffered flooding, including Dagenham Heathway tube station, which had to temporarily close.

Meanwhile, some residents in the north of the capital woke to find cars submerged in water outside their doors, sparking calls for more to be done to resolve the city’s ‘unfit-for-purpose sewage and drainage systems’. 

Adam Hartley, 50, said he woke to find cars submerged outside his front door in Haringey, north London, on Sunday morning.

Today the Environment Agency has four flood warnings and 39 flood alerts in place, mainly across south-eastern parts of England.

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said: ‘We are expecting to see 15 to 25mm of rain but it’s basically mainly associated with some heavy showers.

‘So a lot of it is to cover the potential for some very tricky driving conditions this morning, being obviously Monday morning so one of the busiest.’

The Met Office also says southwesterly winds will strengthen throughout the day, particularly into the afternoon and evening when gales are possible on the Celtic and Irish Sea coasts.

Gusts could reach 65mph, with the strongest winds then transferring to southern and western England and Wales, as well as southwest Scotland.

A car splashes through a flooded street in Bloomsbury, central London, after heavy rain on Sunday. More is expected today

The Met Office has issued a yellow alert, which ran overnight until 10am this morning, covering an area stretching from Chichester in West Sussex to Canterbury in Kent

Adam Hartley, 50, said he woke to find cars submerged in water outside his front door in Haringey, north London, on Sunday morning (pictured)

Meteorologists say a number of homes and businesses could be hit by the deluge, and public transport may again be affected

Met Office forecaster Simon Partridge said the rain in the south east will ease off later on Monday but showers are predicted across the UK for much of the coming week

Gusts could reach 65mph, with the strongest winds then transferring to southern and western England and Wales, as well as southwest Scotland

Mr Partridge said the rain in the south east will ease off later on Monday but showers are predicted across the UK for much of the coming week.

The fresh front of rain overnight came after a yellow alert was put out by the Met Office to cover the South East earlier on Sunday.

Plumpton, near Lewes, East Sussex, received 39mm of rain in 24 hours – more than a third of the average monthly rainfall for the area, the forecaster said. 

Showers will move north-east across northern areas on Monday and be heaviest over hills.

On Tuesday areas across the UK will see downpours, which will ease on Wednesday, the weather agency added.

Rain will hit the North West again on Thursday, although there will be drier conditions further south east.

It comes after heavy flooding on the railway blocked all services on the Isle of Wight’s Island Line on Sunday and also disrupted services between Brighton and Lewes.

Meanwhile, it was revealed over the weekend that Thames Water is discharging untreated sewage into the Thames at two locations as a result of heavy rain. Both Hammersmith Pumping Station and Mogden Sewage Treatment Works were forced to discharge sewage into the river after being overwhelmed.

With more floods on the horizon to fill depleted reservoirs, Southern Water has lifted its three-month hosepipe ban for millions of homes and gardens in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

But despite the deluge which has seen bone-dry reservoirs start to fill, hosepipes and sprinklers are still barred by Thames Water and South East Water, serving London, the Home Counties and large parts of Kent and Sussex.

There was little surprise to Southern Water’s announcement as gardeners were gazing out on flooded lawns and flower beds, and the rains sent river levels surging.

The firm introduced the ban on August 5 after the summer drought saw reservoir levels dwindle.

It said the ban was needed to conserve supplies and protect the habitats of the River Test and the River Itchen where it extracts water.

The company said there’s been a huge drop in demand as summer-parched gardens no longer need watering and swimming pools don’t need topping up.

Following with the rain which saw floods in many places last week, the ban could be removed.

The August ban was the first time a hosepipe restriction had been put in place in the region since 2012. But despite the rain, the firm has warned people to continue to use water wisely.