Heavy rain brings flash flooding and warning of disruption

Councillor Ed O'Driscoll said there had been flash flooding in Ross-on-Wye

Heavy rain has caused flash flooding in parts of Herefordshire.

A Morrisons store in Ross-on-Wye had to close when water started coming through its roof and Ed O'Driscoll, who represents the town on Herefordshire Council said the water had been knee-deep in some streets.

He said he had secured a pallet of sandbags and had been handing them out, because of Met Office warnings of further heavy rain and thunderstorms over the weekend.

Its yellow weather warning covers Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire and Warwickshire, as well as the West Midlands conurbation and parts of Wales and southern England.

It comes just a fortnight after parts of Shropshire saw the heaviest downpours in 50 years as a month's worth of rain fell in just a matter of hours.

Mary Dhonau, a flooding campaigner living in Ledbury, said the amount of rain on Friday was "shocking" and the worst she had seen in the town.

She said: "The rain started several hours ago and it hasn't stopped."

Ms Dhonau was advising people how to make their homes safe and said the police had closed a number of roads in Ledbury.

Morrisons said it was urgently investigating the cause of a leak in its store, with video on social media showing water pouring in through the ceiling.

The Met Office has warned people to prepare for difficult driving conditions and possible road closures and said while some places will remain dry, spray and sudden flooding could cause some disruption.

It said there was a small chance some communities could be cut off due to flooded roads and that there was a chance of delays and cancellations on buses and trains.

Mr O'Driscoll said he had been handing out sandbags ahead of expected thunderstorms

The weekend warning comes into force at 01:00 BST on Saturday and lasts until 23:59 on Sunday.

A separate yellow weather warning is also in place for some areas until 20:00 on Friday.

There is a slight chance of power cuts and a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings according to the Met Office.

They added that there was uncertainty over some of the details, but that scattered showers and thunderstorms were likely on Friday and through Saturday.

The most intense storms may be accompanied by hail and frequent lightning, they added.