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An amber weather warning is in force for millions of people across the UK – with parts of the country dealing with flash floods after some areas saw more than a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.

The warning for heavy rain came into force at around 8:15am and will remain in place until 9pm, sweeping over Bath, Oxford, Reading and Milton Keynes.

The Met Office originally issued an amber warning covering Worcester, Birmingham, Nottingham and Hull before updating its advice.

A larger but less severe yellow rain warning is also in place until midnight covering the North East, the Midlands, the South East, much of the southern tip of England and eastern Wales.

Heavy rainfall has already seen parts of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and London submerged – causing widespread travel disruption and damage to properties.

Follow live weather updates: UK on alert for ‘significant flooding’

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Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey has said Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and up towards the Wash and the Humber could see over a month’s worth of rain falling on Monday. Many places could see between 60mm and 80mm (2.36in and 3.15in) – with up to 120mm (4.72in) possible in a few locations, according to the Met Office.

People in Kent and Sussex woke up to rail disruption this morning due to flooding on the Hayes and Hastings lines.

The flooding, caused by overnight rainfall, has impacted signalling kit – the railway’s traffic lights.

The amber and yellow warnings in place in the UK. Pic: Met Office
Image:
The amber and yellow warnings in place in the UK. Pic: Met Office

The scene on one road in Dunstable at the weekend. Pic: Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue
Image:
The scene on one road in Dunstable at the weekend. Pic: Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue

A man from Northamptonshire has described the moment he saw a “wave of water” heading towards him during flooding on Sunday night.

Tim Maher and his partner Carol Findon, from Grendon, saw their two-storey home partially submerged overnight with more than a foot of water.

A tractor pulling a vehicle which is stuck in flood water in Grendon, Northamptonshire. Pic: PA
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A tractor pulling a vehicle which is stuck in flood water in Grendon, Northamptonshire. Pic: PA

Flooding in Perry Barry, Birmingham. Pic: PA
Image:
Flooding in Perry Barry, Birmingham. Pic: PA

Mr Maher said: “We’ve had some damage to the carpets, settees and other furniture. The most difficult bit will be drying out the structure.

“We haven’t had much sleep and at least eight houses on our road have been impacted. It would be nice to get a permanent solution to this problem.”

Tim Maher looking out of the window of his flooded house in Grendon, Northamptonshire. Pic: PA
Image:
Tim Maher looking out of the window of his flooded house in Grendon, Northamptonshire. Pic: PA

Meanwhile, Newcastle and AFC Wimbledon’s Carabao Cup third-round meeting on Tuesday called off due to “extensive overnight flooding” at the London club’s stadium.

The Cherry Red Records Stadium in Wimbledon, which appears to have a sinkhole on the pitch, is closed as a result of the flooding. A rescheduled date for the Carabao Cup tie is yet to be confirmed.

Pic: Jordan Pettitt/PA
Image:
Pic: Jordan Pettitt/PA

It came as Woburn in Bedfordshire had about 108.8mm (4.29in) of rainfall overnight.

National Highways confirmed the A421 in Bedfordshire was closed in both directions between the A6 Bedford and the M1 J13 near Marston Moretaine due to flooding.

It came as Bedfordshire Police said it had closed off part of Dunstable High Street due to “substantial flooding”, with footage shared on social media showing cars battling high water around the Saracen’s Head pub.

The force has said it is aware of “multiple issues” caused by the weather and urged people to only contact them if “there is an immediate threat to life or crime in progress”.

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Flooding turns roads into rivers

“All emergency services and council teams are working as quickly as possible to help those affected but our priority will be the vulnerable,” it said.

“Please stay clear of flooded roads and affected areas.”

See the Sky News forecast for your area

A flooded road in Dagnall, Buckinghamshire
Image:
A flooded road in Dagnall, Buckinghamshire


A repeat of Friday's gloomy scene on the M3 looks likely today. Pic: PA
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Drivers faced wet weather on the M3 motorway near Basingstoke on Friday. Pic: PA

The Met Office said some areas were at particular risk because the land is already sodden from storms in recent days.

Sky News weather producer Jo Robinson has said parts of the South were hammered with nearly two months of heavy rainfall on Sunday.

Many places have basked in higher than average temperatures over the last few weeks – but that was probably summer’s last hurrah as autumn beds in.

As of 9am on Monday, 17 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – were issued for England by the Environment Agency.

Areas affected by the flood warnings include Atherstone in Warwickshire, Leighton Buzzard and Luton in Bedfordshire and parts of London including Wimbledon and South Ruislip.

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Environment Agency flood duty manager Sarah Cook said: “Persistent heavy rain and thunderstorms could lead to significant surface water flooding on Monday across parts of England.

“The impacts could include localised flooding in urban areas and fast-responding catchments, including some property flooding as well as travel disruption. The risk from river flooding remains low.

“Environment Agency teams are out on the ground and ready to support local authorities in responding to surface water flooding.”

Monday’s downpours are forecast to ease overnight into Tuesday, but the rain is set to be persistent for many this week.

“Through Wednesday and Thursday, unsettled weather is set to return as frontal systems move in from the Atlantic, bringing showers or longer spells of rain to many parts of the UK,” said Met Office deputy chief meteorologist David Oliver.

Meanwhile, Sunday also marked the autumnal equinox – when the day and night are the same length.

Astronomers regard it as the start of the season but weather forecasters generally count the season as beginning on 1 September.

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

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Protesters throw powder on Tower Bridge during London Marathon

Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.

The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.

A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.

The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.

Pic: LNP
Image:
Pic: LNP

They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.

A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.

Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.

More on London Marathon 2025

There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.

More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.

Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.

Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.

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Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform

Pic: LNP
Image:
Pic: LNP

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.

“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”

The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.

The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.

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Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week’s council elections

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Kemi Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform after next week's council elections

Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.

“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.

However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.

“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.

“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”

She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”

More on Electoral Dysfunction

A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.

It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.

Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.

The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.

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Counter-terrorism police investigating after two women injured in Leeds

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Counter-terrorism police investigating after two women injured in Leeds

Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.

Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.

Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.

The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.

Officers guard one of the crime scenes in Leeds
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Officers guard one of the crime scenes

Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
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Officers inside the cordon in Leeds

Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.

“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.

“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

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