Flooding hits England by John Hammond
Torrential rain and thunderstorms lashed a large swathe of Britain yesterday causing widespread flooding and disrupting transport services.
One of the wettest places in the country was Edgbaston, Birmingham, where 86mm (3.4 inches) of rain fell in 24 hours, while 71mm (2.8 inches) fell on Bingley, West Yorkshire. London and the majority of the Home Counties escaped much of the bad weather.
A line of thunderstorms developed from Cambridgeshire to the west Midlands which spread north and eastwards. The midlands and parts of northern England were worst affected.
The police and firefighters dealt with hundreds of emergency calls from flooded homeowners and stranded drivers. Rail companies were forced to cancel many services and some schools were closed as virtually a month's worth of rain poured down in the space of a few hours.
This latest bout of severe weather comes soon after thunderstorms caused widespread flooding and chaos across many parts of Northern Ireland a few days ago. With so much rain falling over the past few days, The Environment Agency has put flood warnings in place for several areas of the UK as rivers reach high levels.
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