Helicopter in driver flood rescue

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See footage taken from the RAF rescue helicopter of the car trapped in the flood (Footage courtesy of RAF Valley, Anglesey)

A trapped motorist had to be rescued from his vehicle after flooding in Powys.

An RAF rescue helicopter was scrambled to reach the 60-year-old man in a 4x4 on the River Rhiw near Welshpool on Thursday afternoon.

Fire-fighters have been called to 21 flooding incidents in south Wales on Thursday involving homes and vehicles.

Flood warnings are in place and the fire service is on alert after weather forecasters predicted heavy storms.

And Wales could feel the brunt of further bad UK weather forecast for Friday with up to 2ins (50mm) of rain and 50mph winds expected.

Sailings of the Stena Line ferry from Holyhead, Anglesey, on Friday at 0855 BST and 1500 BST have been cancelled.

Flood warnings are already in force in south Wales for the River Ewenny at Pencoed and Ewenny.

Another is in place for the River Ely, in Peterston Super Ely, near Cardiff. There are also three flood watches, for the River Llynfi and Ogmore at Bridgend, the Ewenny at Bridgend and the Ely. These will remain in force until river levels start to drop.

The RAF rescue helicopter from Valley on Anglesey was called to the report of a man trapped in his jeep in rising flood water, as he tried to cross a ford on the River Rhiw.

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service warned people to not drive, walk or play in flooded areas and to keep an eye on elderly neighbours.

Meanwhile, the Usk Show, due to be held on 13 September has been cancelled due to the bad weather and current ground conditions.

BBC weather forecaster Liam Dutton said to expect a band of heavy rain lasting between four and five hours starting on Friday morning, along with strong winds and hill fog.

HEAVY RAIN - SEVERE WARNINGS Blaenau Gwent Bridgend Caerphilly Cardiff Carmarthenshire Ceredigion Merthyr Tydfil Monmouthshire Neath Port Talbot Newport Pembrokeshire Powys Rhondda Cynon Taf Swansea Torfaen Vale of Glamorgan Source: Met Office. Valid from 00.01 to 1400 BST on 5 September

"That will effect travel conditions on the high roads like the A470 and the Heads of the Valleys road, which will have lots of surface water. I would expect the M4 to be horrendous," he said.

"The fact we have had a lot of rain already and the fact the ground is already saturated will make it worse.

"Throughout the day the heaviest rain will be in the northern parts of Wales and will be worst in the morning. It will be improving from the south in the afternoon.

"We're expecting 20-30mm of rain widely with 50mm possible across hills and mountains."

The Environment Agency Wales said rivers are "unseasonally high" following the recent rainfall, which had led to an increasing risk of flooding.

John Mosedale, the agency's flood risk manager for Wales, said: "With more heavy rain predicted we are continuing to keep a very close eye on the situation and will issue warnings if the situation worsens."

The stormy start to September follows the wettest August in Wales since 1992.

While an average Welsh August has about 106mm of rain, figures show last month had an average 187.2mm.

It also had just 96.1 hours of sunshine - 57% of the average for the month.

The blame is partly put on the jet stream bringing weather systems across the Atlantic being further south.

The weather has already caused a delay in play at the Welsh National PGA Championships at Cardiff Golf Club on Thursday.

On Wednesday, cricket fans in Cardiff were left disappointed after play was abandoned as the England's final one day international against South Africa became a wash-out.

The 11th green at Cardiff Golf Club became waterlogged during the heavy rain, causing delays at the Welsh National PGA Championships.