Flash floods and travel disruption as heavy rain falls overnight

Parts of England have been hit by travel disruption after a night of heavy rain and flash flooding.

A section of the M5 near Bristol is flooded and has been closed after motorists needed to be rescued from their cars, and there is rail disruption in parts of the Midlands and southern England.

Several flood warnings are in place due to rising river levels after days of heavy rain across the country.

As of 06:00 BST, the Environment Agency had 66 flood warnings in place across England, meaning flooding was expected, and 118 less severe flood alerts.

All Met Office weather warnings have now expired but localised disruption is expected to impact some areas throughout Friday morning.

The M5 is closed between junctions 14 and 16. Avon Fire and Rescue service said it was working with with National Highways to rescue people stranded in their cars after it was inundated by rainwater.

In Birmingham, a man had to be rescued by police when his car became submerged in flood water on Thursday evening and a car became stranded in nearby Stourbridge.

In Bedfordshire, there is concern the River Great Ouse could burst its banks at Kempston and a school has been closed due to staff and students not being able to travel.

In Gloucestershire, Tewkesbury Borough Council has been handing out sandbags to residents to protect their homes against flooding.

Councils in Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire confirmed a number of road closures and sought to reassure residents they were working to keep people safe overnight.

Areas in the north of England have seen the most rain, with with Flyingdales, North Yorkshire seeing one months’ worth of rain (81mm) in two days.

More flooding is possible on Friday as rivers will continue to rise after the rain clears.

National Highways network manager Stephen Basterfield said people expecting to travel by car should “adjust their driving behaviour and take extra care”.

Some areas which were forecast for the heaviest rain overnight had already experienced record September rainfall this month.

Parts of Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire, in particular, have seen over three times their normal September rainfall.

Rain is expected to clear later on Friday and the forecast is drier for the weekend, with some less severe rain expected.

Temperatures are expected to drop across the country. BBC Weather is monitoring the prospect of more wet and windy weather arriving later on Sunday and into Monday.