Rain forecasts trigger flood fears

Shrewsbury in Shropshire was flooded in December

Heavy rain combined with melting snow could cause rivers already on flood alert to burst their banks, the Environment Agency has warned.

Prolonged rainfall is forecast for Friday and Saturday and could trigger further flood misery in many parts of Britain.

It has prompted the EA to increase the number flood warnings to 37.

River levels may rise further

Driving conditions are also expected to deteriorate as temperatures drop to freezing across many areas.

Black ice claimed the lives of a 37-year-old mother and her 12-month-old son on Wednesday when their BMW car skidded into ditch and hit a tree.

The accident happened on the B4078 near Winchcombe, in Gloucestershire.

Fears have also been raised about further landslides following the death of a woman in Wales on Tuesday after her car was dragged over a cliff as the ground gave way.

The cliff is thought to have been weakened by recent heavy rain. It was the third landslide in the area in a matter of weeks.

Landslide fears

Six areas of the Dartmoor National Park have been declared "at risk" zones after suffering erosion following weeks of heavy rain.

Moor users are being asked by the Dartmoor National Park Authority to avoid the areas to allow them to recover.

The 369sq mile moor was "waterlogged" after prolonged wet weather, said Moor Care Programme officer Sue Halse.

Alternative transport may be needed

The South East and South West are expected to be the areas worst affected by the rain and there could also be gale force winds.

Forecasters estimate about one inch will fall in 12 hours.

The rain will move northwards during Friday afternoon, leaving the south with sunny spells and showers.

Flood warnings are in place on the following rivers:

• Dorset and Somerset: the Yeo, Frome, Stour, Semington Brook, Bride and Upper Parrett.
• South East: the Ouse, Great Ouse, Lavant, Ems, Adur, Lymington, Wallington, Cuckmere, Gunard Luck and Monkton Mead.
• Central England: the Trent, Dove, Sow, Blythe, Tame, Brook, Soar, Wreake, Sence, Avon, Anker, Stour, Leam and Severn.
• The North: the Ouse.

A spokesman for the EA said the situation on individual rivers was changing by the hour and was being constantly monitored by staff.

The agency's floodline number is 0845 9881188.

Thousands of homes in the UK suffered repeated flooding in the autumn - one of the wettest in England and Wales since records began 273 years ago.