Amber warning as more heavy rain to hit flooded areas

The Environment Agency has 27 flood warnings, external and 69 less severe flood alerts in place across England.

Some areas covered by the new amber warning could see 30-40mm of rainfall in three hours or less, and perhaps 50-60mm or more in around six hours, the Met Office says.

Places under the amber warning include Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire, Cambridgeshire, Buckinghamshire and Worcestershire.

Matt Taylor, BBC lead weather presenter, said that some places within the amber warning area could see close to a month’s worth of rain overnight and, given how saturated the ground is following the rain already seen this week, existing flooding could be exacerbated further.

More travel disruption is likely and rivers will continue to rise after the rain clears.

Some areas covered by the warning have already experienced record September rainfall this month. Parts of Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire, in particular, have seen over three times their normal September rainfall.