UK weather: Roads closed and trains disrupted after flooding across UK – with new yellow warning issued
Commuters are facing road closures and disrupted rail services as dozens of flood warnings remain in place and further rainfall is expected.
Some areas have been struck by more than a month’s worth of rain in the past 24 hours – with rising waters damaging homes and making roads impassable.
Meanwhile, a fresh weather warning has been issued – bringing the potential for heavy rain, strong winds and the risk of yet more flooding.
The yellow warning is for the entire of Thursday, covering an area from Nottinghamshire to Northumberland.
A yellow warning is in force for Thursday
The Met Office said: “A period of heavy and persistent rain is expected to affect parts of northern England and north Midlands during much of Thursday.
“The heaviest rainfall is likely to be across the Pennines and North York Moors where 80-100 mm of rainfall could accumulate during the course of the day.
“Strong winds may also affect coastal locations and routes over high ground.”
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House flooded as heavy rain hits UK
The Environment Agency (EA) has issued flood warnings – the second highest alert level – for several areas of England including across parts of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Kent and Somerset.
Some of the areas included:
• River Sheppey in Somerset around Shepton Mallet
• River Medway in Kent between Forest Row and Edenbridge
• River Ouzel in Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire between Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes
• River Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire around the town of St Neots
• River Cherwell in Oxfordshire in Banbury
See the Sky News forecast for your area
The agency has said further light rainfall is expected over the next 12 hours which will keep river levels high. The respective agencies in Scotland or Wales have not issued any warnings.
It comes after parts of Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire saw more than 100mm of rain in the last 48 hours, with Woburn in Bedfordshire seeing 142.8mm recorded, more than twice the amount of its September average rainfall amount according to the Met Office.
Flooding also hit Perry Bar in Birmingham. Pic: PA
The rear boot of a virtually submerged car near Bedford. Pic: Reuters
The flooding has damaged homes and continued to cause travel disruption on Tuesday, closing several routes, according to National Highways:
• A421 northbound closed between M1 (J13) and Bedford
• A421 southbound closed between M1 and A6
• A5 closed northbound between the A422 and A509
The A421 near Bedford. Pic: Reuters
Rail services have also been affected in some areas, as flooding between Rugby and Milton Keynes central is disrupting Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway, according to National Rail.
Chiltern Railways is reporting issues on services between Birmingham Snow Hill / Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone, while Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern are also seeing problems between Rugby and Milton Keynes Central.
Meanwhile, buses are replacing trains between Bletchley and Bedford on London Northwestern.
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The National Grid said it had seen a week’s worth of power cuts across the weekend.
The Met Office predicts that much of southern Britain will be dry on Tuesday, but the afternoon may bring a few showers to Wales and central England.
An amber weather warning had been issued until 9pm on Monday, covering a large part of central and parts of southwestern England.
AFC Wimbledon and Newcastle’s Carabao Cup third-round meeting on Tuesday had to be postponed due to “extensive overnight flooding” at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
Nigel Farage has told Sky News he “can’t be pushed or bullied” by anybody after Elon Musk said the Reform MP “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead his party.
In an interview with Sky’s political correspondent Ali Fortescue, Mr Farage said he has spoken with the billionaire owner of X since his criticism on 5 January, when Mr Musk said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
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Asked if the pair are still friends, Mr Farage said: “Of course we’re friends. He just says what he thinks at any moment in time.”
He added he has “been in touch” with Mr Musk, though wouldn’t divulge what they had discussed.
“Look, he said lots of supportive things. He said one thing that wasn’t supportive. I mean, that’s just the way it is,” Mr Farage said.
Musk and Farage met in December. Pic: PA
Asked if he was afraid to criticise the tech mogul, the Clacton MP said the situation was “the opposite”, and he openly disagreed with Mr Musk on his views on far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Mr Farage said: “What he [Musk] was saying online was that effectively Tommy Robinson was a political prisoner and I wouldn’t go along with that.
“If I had gone along with that, he wouldn’t have put out a tweet that was against me.
“By the way, you know, I can’t be pushed or bullied or made to change by anybody.
“I stick to what I believe.”
Mr Musk has endorsed Robinson and claimed he was “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, writing on X: “Free Tommy Robinson”.
But Mr Farage said that Robinson, who is serving an 18-month jail term for contempt of court, isn’t welcome in Reform UK and neither are his supporters.
He said: “If people within Reform think Tommy Robinson should be a member of Reform and play a central role in Reform, that disagreement is absolutely fundamental.
“I’ve never wanted to work with people who were active in the BNP. I’ve made that clear right throughout the last decade of my on/off political career. So that’s what the point of difference is.”
Despite their disagreement, Mr Farage said he is confident Mr Musk will continue to support Reform and “may well” still give money to it.
The entrepreneur has previously spoken positively about Reform UK and there have been suggestions he could make a multi-million-pound donation in its favour.
Devolution plans ‘denial of democracy’
Mr Farage was speaking from Reform’s South East of England Conference, one of a series of regional events aimed at building up the party’s support base.
Elsewhere in the interview, he hit out at the Labour government’s devolution plans which could see some local elections scheduled for May postponed.
This would apply when councils seek permission to reorganise, so that smaller district authorities merge with other nearby ones to give them more sway over their area.
Mr Farage, who is hoping to make gains in the spring contests, claimed the plans are not about devolution but about “elections being cancelled”.
“I thought only dictators cancelled elections. This is unbelievable and devolution or a change to local government structures is being used as an excuse,” he said.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this month. Pic: PA
He claimed Tory-controlled councils are “grabbing it like it’s a life belt”, because they fear losing seats to Reform.
“It’s an absolute denial of democracy,” he added.
Mr Farage was also asked why many Reform members don’t like to speak on camera about why they support his party.
He said he did not accept there was a toxicity associated with Reform and claimed there was “institutional bias against anybody that isn’t left of centre”.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.
The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”
Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.
The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.
Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.
CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”
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