Heavy rain brings travel disruption with cars stranded and trains suspended

Images posted on social media showed tracks at a train station in Shropshire completely submerged and abandoned cars on an empty motorway in Gloucestershire.

It comes as an amber rain warning issued by the Met Office for areas of the Midlands and the south of the country, and a separate yellow rain warning for large parts of England and Wales, both ended on Friday.

Areas affected by the amber warning, including Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire and the West Midlands, were hit by flash floods as the Met Office said the regions could have 30-40mm of rainfall within three hours.

Rail services between Shrewsbury in Shropshire and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands were cancelled, with disruption expected all morning, after severe flooding at Wellington station and an earlier tree on the line.

The pitch at the SEAH Stadium in Wellington, home to Telford United football club, was completely flooded on Thursday evening.

Trains between Peterborough in the east Midlands and London King’s Cross were delayed because of flooding.

The Marston Vale line in Bedfordshire, which operates services between Bedford and Bletchley, is suspended until Monday because of standing water on the track.

All lines were blocked between Bicester North and Banbury in Oxfordshire, with disruption expected until 3pm.

National Highways said the M5 in Gloucestershire was closed northbound between junction 16 and junction 14 because of flooding.

The motorway had reopened southbound between J14 and J15 but hour-long delays and up to four miles of congestion were still expected both ways.

Avon Fire and Rescue Service previously said they were working with National Highways South West to rescue people stranded on the M5 in Gloucestershire.

Images on social media showed several cars in the middle of the motorway in the affected areas.

The A421 in Bedfordshire was expected to remain closed in both directions on Friday between the A6 Bedford and M1 junction 13 near Marston Moretaine, as floodwater continued to be pumped clear from the junction.

Meteorologist Greg Dewhurst told the PA news agency: “There will continue to be localised flooding. A lot of these areas have been hit by rain in the past few weeks which means the ground is already saturated.

Mr Dewhurst said conditions were expected to “ease up” and become a bit drier through Friday, but added: “Rivers often take time to respond so we’re expecting disruption to continue in central and southern parts throughout the morning. Those planning to travel on Friday should factor this into their journey times.”

As of 9am, the Environment Agency had issued 66 flood warnings across England, meaning flooding is expected, and 121 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible.

Recent flooding in areas including Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire have brought widespread travel disruption and damaged properties.

According to the Met Office warning, the weather could lead to difficult driving conditions and road closures, homes and businesses are likely to be flooded and there is a “good chance” some communities will be cut off because of floods.

Delays and cancellations to train and bus services and power cuts are also likely while footage on social media showed cars driving through partially submerged roads.

Councils and emergency services in Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire said there were a number of road closures and they were working to keep people safe overnight.

Tewkesbury Borough Council, in Gloucestershire, has been handing out sandbags to people to help protect their homes against flooding.

Parts of the country had more than the monthly average rainfall on Monday and there were further downpours on Wednesday.

About 385 properties were flooded in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Kent and the home counties, according to the Environment Agency.

The rain is expected to clear during Friday leaving conditions much colder on Saturday.