Records hit as town becomes wettest place in UK

Heavy rain has struck Bedfordshire in the past week, leaving places like Marston Moretaine's skate park under water

A town that has been hit by flooding from heavy rainfall has become the wettest place in the UK.

Latest Met Office figures show Woburn in Bedfordshire has recorded 232.4mm (9.1in) of rainfall this month – about 420% above normal.

It means Woburn has experienced more rain than its expected autumn average in September alone and had its wettest month on record since 1940.

Major roads in the area have been shut due to flooding, including the A421 which had 55 to 60 million litres of water in a dip in the carriageway near Marston Moretaine, and a peak depth of 8ft (2.4m).

The A421 close to Marston Moretaine resembles a river

BBC Look East weather presenter Gillian Brown said: "We've had consistent rainfall almost over the last week.

"The continuous weather warnings means the water is falling on saturated ground, there is no time for it to recover."

Scientists say extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of climate change.