Locals describe ‘unbelievable’ flash flooding as rain continues to batter Britain

Heavy rainfall has seen parts of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and London submerged causing widespread travel disruption and damage to properties.

According to the Environment Agency, at least 45 properties have flooded across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Kent and the Home Counties.

As of 11.45am, 17 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – were issued for England by the Environment Agency. An amber warning came into force at 5am and will last until 11.59pm.

Tim Maher and his partner Carol Findon, from Grendon, Northamptonshire, saw their two-storey home partially submerged overnight with more than a foot of water.

Mr Maher told the PA news agency: “We’ve had an awful lot of rain in recent days and some forecasters were warning we could see a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.

“I have an app on my phone which tracks river levels and at around 8.45pm it rocketed up.

“I decided to drive down to the bridge and saw the water breaking the banks and coming down the road towards me.

“I quickly turned around, drove home and put up a flood barrier we’ve got up against the door. It kept out a lot of the water but we’ve had about an inch overnight.

“We’ve had some damage to the carpets, settees and other furniture. The most difficult bit will be drying out the structure.

“We haven’t had much sleep and at least eight houses on our road have been impacted. It would be nice to get a permanent solution to this problem.”

Some affected areas could see 100mm to 120mm of rain on Monday, and forecasters said there may be more warnings in the week ahead.

Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey previously told PA that Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and up towards the Wash and the Humber could see more than a month’s worth of rain falling on Monday.

A hairdresser was cleaning up mud from R&R Hair Services in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, on Monday morning after floodwater reached knee height on High Street South on Sunday.

Kirsty Brewer said it was the fourth time the business had flooded in the last six or seven years and that the first time it had caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, but now they had moved all the electricals higher, so they just had to clean up the mud.

The 31-year-old, who rents a chair in the business, said: “It started yesterday afternoon when the whole of Dunstable was flooded. It was up to your knee deep, the road comes down so we’re sitting in a bit of a well.

“We don’t open on Sundays or Mondays, so it’s not affected business in that way, it’s just a big clean-up. It was full of mud when we got here at 9am.

“This is the fourth time that it has happened in the last six or seven years, so we’ve got all the electricals up, we’re prepared. We know how to handle it. Because we are a listed building we’re not allowed a flood gate.

“The first time that it happened it was thousands of pounds worth of damage. It happened last year, it’s like a once-a-year thing.”

Jon Sayles, also from Grendon, said his home had been hit with “two feet” of water.

He said: “At about 9pm last night, water came in through the back of the house. I’ve had about two feet of water.

“I’ve got electrical problems, the sockets don’t work, the fridge isn’t working and there’s damage to the carpet and settees.

“I was in bed as I’d decided to have an early night. A neighbour called me to tell me what was happening so I went to have a look and saw the water. It was unbelievable.

“I’m still clearing up and had no sleep last night.”