Midlands hit by severe flooding after wintry conditions cause major travel disruption across UK
Major incidents have been declared in Lincolnshire and Leicestershire after rain brought severe flooding to the Midlands on Monday.
Firefighters in Leicestershire received more than 200 calls and rescued 59 people, while Lincolnshire authorities have warned conditions could deteriorate overnight as water ices over.
The Environment Agency has issued 193 flood warnings across England this evening, meaning flooding is expected – plus another 306 flood alerts, indicating flooding is possible.
It comes amid a warning for snow and ice for most of south-west England and Wales, along with parts of north-west England and the West Midlands, which is in place until 10am tomorrow.
Wintry conditions have continued to force schools to close and caused major travel disruption, with Manchester airport having to shut a runway for several hours due to heavy snow on Monday morning.
Stranded vehicles and collisions have also blocked key roads across northern England.
In North Yorkshire, the body of a man was recovered by police from a flooded area in Beal, near Eggborough and Knottingley.
North Yorkshire Police believe he entered the water on Saturday or Sunday and the man has been formally identified.
The force added efforts to trace his next of kin were ongoing, and there are currently no suspicious circumstances surrounding the discovery.
The Prime Minister has urged the public to follow advice from the emergency services, thanking them for their work and saying his “thoughts are with all those affected”.
Environment minister Emma Hardy told MPs in the House of Commons that flooding was “a personal priority” for her, adding that the Environment Agency was particularly concerned about Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire.
Hardy also warned of further “localised” flooding over the next 24 to 36 hours, and pledged to overhaul the Government’s approach to funding flood defences, saying it would “ensure the challenges facing businesses and rural and coastal communities are taken into account when delivering flood protection”.
Northern Powergrid said more than 27,000 homes across Yorkshire and the North of England had lost power due to the bad weather and 100 people were still without power by Monday lunchtime.
National Resources Wales had 16 flood alerts and one flood warning in place, while the Met Office warned that snow and ice was set to cause more disruption in large parts of Scotland.
Sunday night was the UK’s coldest this winter with a temperature of -13.3C recorded in Loch Glascarnoch in the Highlands, between Ullapool and Inverness.
Most of the UK saw heavy snow or icy rainfall over a wintry weekend where two amber weather warnings were put in place.
Hundreds of schools were closed on Monday, in areas including Lancashire, Yorkshire and north-east Scotland.
The Met Office advised people to be “prepared” for snow.
A warning for snow and ice is in place across most of south-west England and Wales, and parts of north-west England and the West Midlands, between 5pm on Monday and 10am on Tuesday.
The same warning is in place for western and northern parts of Scotland between 4pm on Monday and midday on Tuesday, and in Northern Ireland between 3pm on Monday and 11am on Tuesday.
There is a separate warning for snow in southern England on Wednesday from 9am until 11.59pm.
Additional reporting by Press Association