Roads shut and homes evacuated after heavy rainfall

Villagers in Little Bowden had to evacuate, said Leicestershire and Rutland Local Resilience Partnership

Floodwaters shut a number of roads across Leicestershire and Rutland after heavy rainfall.

Storm Bert brought heavy rain to the country on Saturday and Sunday, with 161 flood warnings and 213 flood alerts across England alone.

In Market Harborough, a numbers of roads were shut on Sunday evening due to flooding, said Leicestershire Police.

The force advised drivers to avoid Kettering Road, Rectory Lane, Scotland Road, St Nicholas Close and Northampton Road in an alert at about 21:30 GMT.

In Braybrooke and Little Bowden, the River Jordan levels also rose.

Residents had to be evacuated according to the Leicestershire and Rutland Local Resilience Partnership on Sunday night, and people were asked to avoid the area.

In addition, roads elsewhere in south Leicestershire have been shut, with motorists asked to avoid entering standing water and find alternative routes.

Roads closed

Closed roads, according to the partnership, include Crow Mills in Countesthorpe, Mythe Lane in Witherley, Hoby Road in Asfordby, and Slash Lane in Sileby.

In Rutland, the A6003 Caldecott, A6003 Manton Bridge, Stockerston Road in Uppingham, and Stoke Road in Lyddington have also been affected by flooding.

Drivers are asked by the partnership to plan ahead, avoid entering floodwater, and pay attention to road closure signs and road conditions.

Flooding also affected rail services along the East Midlands Main Line on Sunday due to flooding and landslips between Market Harborough and Kettering.

But Network Rail inspectors have since allowed services to run to timetable on Monday.