Fresh storms hit Britain

Thousands of sandbags were laid over the weekend

Parts of Britain are braced for fresh flood misery as strong winds and torrential rain sweep across the country.

A low pressure system which moved in from the Atlantic on Sunday is expected to deposit up to two inches before moving off on Monday.

Fears are growing that with land saturated and rivers full, areas already flooded - especially in Yorkshire and the Midlands - will suffer all over again.

John Prescott inspects the flooding in York

As the fresh bout of severe weather made its way across the country, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott pledged a new national recovery team to help flood victims.

The south west of England and Wales were hit first on Sunday, with heavy rainfall all day and high winds felling trees and causing travel disruption.

The bad weather swept southern England and moved into the Midlands, where parts of the River Severn are at critical levels.

The front is expected to slow down as it passes across northern England where the Ouse, Derwent and Aire are all dangerously swollen.

Chemical plant alert

There are 24 severe flood warnings on rivers in Yorkshire, the Midlands and Wales, and a further 66 flood warnings remain in force in England and Wales.

Homes in one Gloucestershire village are being evacuated amid rising fears over poisoning from a chemicals plant which exploded six days ago.

Severe flood warnings

River Otter - Devon

River Axe - Devon

River Wriggle - near Yeovilton, Somerset

River Ouse, North Yorkshire - 10 sites in York, plus Naburn, Acaster Malbis

Lower Ouse - Kelfield, Barlby to Selby

The Aire at Gowdall

Derwent, Lower Derwent - Elvington to Barmby, Malton and Norton

Lower Dee in Wales - Llangollen to Chester

River Severn - Worcester to Gloucester

Concern has been mounting in the village of Sandhurst during the past week about the effect of last Monday morning's blast at the Cleansing Service Group plant nearby.

With weather conditions deteriorating Gloucestershire Police said they had taken the precautionary measure of moving eight families living closest to the site to a nearby hotel.

In York, one of the places worst hit by the recent flooding, river levels fell steadily on Sunday, down by three feet from Saturday morning's peak.

Flood defences in the historic walled city were shored up with 15,000 sandbags in a huge weekend operation involving the emergency services, army and local people.

A satellite image of the low pressure system sweeping across the UK

A frantic effort to pump away as much excess water as possible went on as the city's residents braced themselves for Sunday night's heavy rainfall.

The long suffering residents of Yalding in Kent are also fearing the worst only a week after much of the village was left underwater when the River Medway burst its banks in earlier storms.

John Prescott, visiting flood affected areas of Yorkshire, expanded on Saturday's announcement of £51m extra funding for improved flood defences and warning systems.

He said: "I would like to see a recovery team which is there as the people go through a process of change, finding accommodation, finding the heaters to heat the house, getting the insurance companies to help to quicken up the process to relieve the damage they face and the misery."

York racecourse provides an unexpected opportunity to try out a dinghy

Issuing what he called a "wake up call", Mr Prescott said the country would have to accept that climate change meant more frequent extreme weather.

"People tend to think this is going to come every 20 or 30 years. Climate change is making a fundamental difference.

"Since 1987, there have been three major floodings and they are becoming more frequent."

Infrastructure improvements would have to be made to cope, he added.