Video shows UK town underwater as residents brace for more rain

Shocking video shows the town of Abingdon underwater with locals wading ankle-deep through flooded streets as more rain is set to fall overnight.

Footage shot by the BBC shows roads submerged in the town in Oxfordshire where some spots have seen three times the average monthly rainfall. The clip comes as two weather warnings for heavy rain have been issued by the Met Office for the coming days.

The first yellow warning for heavy rain has been issued for Thursday, lasts all day and covers much of the North East of England.

The second has been issued for much of England and Wales, apart from North Wales, parts of the West Midlands and the North West of England. It applies between 5pm on Thursday and 10am on Friday.

Both yellow warnings indicate a slight chance of power cuts, a small chance homes and businesses could become flooded, as well as the possibility of travel disruption, according to the Met Office.

Met Office spokesperson Stephen Dixon said the North East could see 80-100mm of rain on the North York Moors, between 20mm and 30mm of rain widely, and up to 70mm could fall in some locations during the day.

Meanwhile, the area covered by the warning over much of central and south England and Wales could see 20-30mm of rain in two hours and 40-60mm within four to six hours.

Flooding already forced 43 people to flee their caravans in Northamptonshire. Firefighters and police evacuated Billing Aquadrome holiday park late into Tuesday night.

It comes after parts of the UK saw more than the monthly average rainfall on Monday, with flash flooding damaging homes and causing travel chaos.

Teams used 4×4 vehicles and protective equipment to help 43 people away from areas affected by the rising floodwater.

West Northamptonshire Council carried out welfare checks on any vulnerable people at the site and provided an overnight rest centre and emergency bedding at Lings Forum Leisure Centre for 52 people and 22 dogs displaced by the flooding, the local fire service said.

Pictures taken on Tuesday showed neighbouring Cogenhoe Mill holiday park flooded after the River Nene burst its banks.

The Met Office has said counties including Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire were among the worst hit on Monday.

In total, the Environment Agency issued 26 flood warnings, meaning flooding was expected, and 54 flood alerts, meaning it was possible, in place across England on Wednesday morning.

Mr Dixon said the rain within the central and south England and Wales warning area will be “falling on very saturated ground” so there is “potential for further flooding”.

He added temperatures across the UK will be dropping as the weekend nears and overnight on Friday frost could be seen widely.

The Met Office spokesperson said the weekend will start drier, until late on Sunday, but with frequent showers in western Scotland and Northern Ireland. On Sunday night into Monday, strong winds and heavy rain will move in.