Met Office issues urgent weather warning as torrential downpours to spark more flooding

The Met Office has issued urgent weather warnings for many areas across the country as residents may experience flooding due to torrential downpours.

A yellow rain warning is in place from 5am this morning until midnight and it will cover London, the southeast of England and the southwest.

The weather service warned that some areas should expect "heavy downpours and thunderstorms" today as 15-25 mm of rain will fall quite widely, especially towards the south coast, where we may see 30-45 mm by the end of the day in some spots.

The Met Office weather warning states: "Earlier heavy rain will be followed by fairly frequent heavy and blustery showers this afternoon and evening.

"A particular focus is likely to develop this evening across some southern coastal areas (within about 20 miles of the coast) from the Isle of Wight, through Sussex and Kent, with heavy downpours and thunderstorms catching some locations. 15-25 mm of rain will fall quite widely, especially towards the south coast, where we may see 30-45 mm by the end of the day in the wettest spots, including hourly totals of around 10 mm.

"The saturated conditions will increase the risk of flooding and disruption in some locations."

The Environment Agency currently has more than 140 flood alerts and 39 flood warnings - which mean immediate action is required - in force across England after Storm Ciaran saw the country battered by strong wind and heavy rain.

A number of major A-roads, including in Kent, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Wight, remain closed to traffic following flooding and landslips.