Floods: UK To Remain On Alert For Another Week

Christmas has got off to a soggy start for many parts of the UK, as more rain falls on flood-threatened areas.

Hundreds of homes and businesses have been swamped with floodwaters as winter rain continues to fall on saturated land.

Police have closed the junction 10 exit of the M27 at Wickham and the A127 near its junction with the M25 due to flooding.

The Environment Agency (EA) said widespread showers meant many places remain on flood alert despite the persistent heavy rain being expected to ease off by the end of today.

An EA spokeswoman said: "While the worse of the weather is behind us, the risk of flooding continues with rain falling on already saturated ground.

Railway engineers check inflatable dams on the railway line near Exeter

"As a result, flood warnings and alerts will remain in place for much of the week ahead.

"This is because river levels remain high and sensitive to further rainfall."

The rivers Severn, Trent, Avon and Thames are most at risk of flooding, the EA said, and another band of rain is expected to swamp the country on Boxing Day.

Kempton clerk of the course Barney Clifford said he saw no need to call an inspection and that the William Hill King George VI Chase meeting on Boxing Day should go ahead as planned.

There are more than 150 flood warnings in place across the country, and 256 less serious flood alerts.

The Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham was flooded

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning - its second highest alert - for southwest England.

The Met Office said the wettest place in the UK since the heavy rain began last week was Tyndrum in Perthshire with 6.1in (155mm).

Cardinham, near Bodmin in Cornwall, is the wettest place in England with 5.1in (128.8 mm) of rain and the wettest place in Wales has been Mumbles Head in West Glamorgan with 4.2in (107mm) of rain.

Ballypatrick Forest in Antrim has been the wettest place in Northern Ireland, with 3.5in (89mm) of rain.

Some areas have exceeded their full-month December average since December 19 - such as Plymouth, which has seen 5.1in (128.8mm) of rain compared with a December average of 4.7in (118.8 mm).

Lower-level yellow weather warnings have also been issued for much of southern England and Wales.

Following a an extremely dry start, Britain is now set for one of its wettest years ever, the Met Office said.

The UK's average rainfall in 2012, excluding December, is 1,202mm -  placing it 13th in the list of wettest years since records began in 1910.

Forecasters said December's deluge of rain means this year is now likely to finish among the country's highest rainfall totals on record.

The year 2000 remains the UK's wettest year, with an average rainfall of 1,337.3mm.

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