Weather: Heavy Rain Sparks Christmas Misery

Families preparing for Christmas have been hit by floods and travel chaos as heavy rain batters Britain.

The south west of England has been particularly badly affected by the downpours and four severe flood warnings for Devon and Cornwall are now in place.

Some residents in Helston, Cornwall, were evacuated overnight after river levels rose and the Environment Agency warned that widespread flooding was "imminent".

There are fears about the River Cober in the town with more rain expected later on Saturday, raising fears some families may not be back home for Christmas.

Cornwall Council spokeswoman Trisha Hewitt said: "There is expected to be 30mm of rainfall during a six hour period from 5pm.

"As this is falling on saturated ground, this could cause further flooding."

The River Fowey is also subject to a severe flood warning, with another two for the River Caen in Braunton, Devon.

Floods in Helston, Cornwall, led to homes being evacuated

Braunton, which is in north Devon, has already been effectively cut off after the river burst its banks.

"The public are not attempted to attempt to drive to the town as it is flooded," Devon and Cornwall Police said.

There are a further 101 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, and another 301 alerts where it is considered possible.

Much of Britain saw deluges of rain early on Saturday as millions started the holidays, with Christmas Day now looking set to be a washout.

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The water has already led to major issues on road and train networks, which will spell trouble for Britons travelling this weekend.

Conditions are so bad in the south west that First Great Western has told passengers not to travel.

Flood-hit streets in York

Flooding between Taunton and Exeter St Davids and a signalling problem are causing major disruption.

There are no trains between Plymouth and Tiverton Parkway or Taunton, and a replacement bus service is running from Exeter St Davids to Tiverton Parkway and Taunton.

Further road replacements are being organised to run between Plymouth and Exeter St Davids, but this is expected to add another 90 minutes to journey times.

First Great Western and CrossCountry services are accepting each other's passengers, National Rail said.

A major signalling problem caused by a fire yesterday that affected electrical cables and railside signalling equipment at Preston Park is also causing major disruption near Brighton.

Diversions are in place, with trains between Brighton and Gatwick airport travelling half-hourly and buses laid on for some passengers.

There are also signalling problems affecting some Cross Country and London Midland routes in and around Birmingham.

Flooding near Rhoose Cardiff International Airport is causing disruption on Arriva Trains Wales.

And there remain problems on all London Midland routes because of driver shortages that have been an issue since October.

A man wading through Braunton, Devon

Replacement bus services are also in place between Bedford and Bletchley because of a lack of crew and in Liskeard and Looe in Cornwall due to flooding.

A landslip has caused rail problems in the Glazebrook area near Warrington, affecting some First TransPennine Express services and links to Manchester.

On the roads, the A38 from Bodmin towards Exeter is currently closed because of flooding. The northbound exit slip road on the A19 in Cleveland at the junction with the A139 is also shut.

There are also delays on the A27 eastbound between B2144 and A285 near Chichester because of flooding.

Mike Williams, from the Environment Agency, said: "This is the last weekend before Christmas, so it will be particularly busy with people travelling through the region.

"We would urge people to take extra care when planning their journeys and we aware of the risk of flooding.

"Our teams have been out around the clock to minimise the risks and prepare for flooding.

"People need to keep up to date with the weather forecast and remain prepared for flooding in their area and stay away from dangerous flood water or attempting to drive through it."

Britons attempting to get to Heathrow have also been hit by changes to the Heathrow Express service, which on Friday forced thousands of passengers onto the Underground.

Rain is affecting much of the UK (Pictures: Met Office)

Trains are running normally on Saturday but are due to start later on Sunday and will then not run at all on Christmas Day and Boxing Day because of engineering work.

British Airways alone is set to handle nearly 31,000 passengers on Christmas Day as an estimated four million Britons travel abroad for the rest of the holidays.

There was some good news after two main line rail strikes that threatened to cause travel chaos over the Christmas period were called off.

But the train drivers' union Aslef is still striking on Boxing Day in a move that will hit the Underground and has already forced the cancellation of the Arsenal-West Ham United football match.

The other main train problem for the festive period is likely to be engineering work on the West Coast Line.

There are no direct services from London Euston to Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool or Glasgow on December 23 and 24.

Direct services resume on December 27 but with two of the four lines closed up to and including New Year's Eve.

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