England and Wales on flood alert

Large parts of England and Wales are on flood alert as forecasters warned that there will be no respite over coming days from the rain.

The Environment Agency said there was a "continued" risk of surface water flooding from overwhelmed drains across parts of London, East and West Sussex, Surrey and Kent following rainfall of up to 50 millimetres in some areas overnight.

The agency said there are 35 flood alerts across England and Wales, with one flood warning for the River Mole at Charlwood and Hookwood in south east England amid forecasts of further heavy rainfall.

Gemma Plumb, of MeteoGroup, the weather division of the Press Association, said up to 25 millimetres of rain could fall in parts of the Midlands, East Anglia, central southern and south eastern England with the rain starting to ease off Monday evening.

There will be light rain through central southern parts of England, the Midlands and eastern parts of England on Tuesday with some heavy showers across the rest of the UK.

On Wednesday there will be further showers, the heaviest of which will be across Wales and south west England.

The forecast of further rain comes after parts of Sussex were drenched by between 40 and 48 millimetres of rain overnight, with up to 25 millimetres of rain in parts of London. Miss Plumb warned there would be "no respite" from the wet weather over coming days.

"There will be some dry intervals at times, but at the moment it looks as though it is going to remain unsettled for a good few days now," she said.

The Environment Agency warned people to remain vigilant and check its website and Twitter feed for the latest situation. The agency added that the public was "strongly" advised to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through floodwater.

The warnings of further rain come after residents who were evacuated after floods tore through their homes in Wales continued with the clear-up.