Storm Benjamin on its way to the South East

The Met Office has issued yellow severe weather warnings for both the wind and rain across the UK

Storm Benjamin is set to bring a period of disruptive weather to the South East, where Met Office warnings for rain and wind will be in place overnight and into Thursday.

BBC South East weather presenter Sarah Keith-Lucas has warned a "combination of heavy, persistent rainfall combined with strong, gusty winds" is on its way.

The Met Office yellow warning for rain will go live at midnight, with the same level warning for wind in place from 03:00 BST on Thursday.

It warned that flooding of a few homes and businesses was likely, and that the wind could damage buildings, force roads to close and lead to travel disruption.

The presenter said: "Storm Benjamin is not an unusual event for this time of year, and is a fairly typical autumnal low pressure system.

"However, it may be more impactful as many trees still have a lot of leaves on, so they are more likely to be brought down by the wind.

"A large quantity of leaves getting blown off the trees by Storm Benjamin may also lead to blocked drains and lots of debris on the roads."

There could be 20 to 30mm of rain, possibly 50mm over the highest ground, while the winds early on Thursday are expected to produce gusts of 40 to 55mph (65 to 90 km/h).

Keith-Lucas said the wind would change to a north-westerly direction into Thursday afternoon, gusting at 50 to 60mph (80 to 95 km/h) with a small chance of 70mph (110 km/h) near the coast.

The rain warning will be in place until 21:00 on Thursday, while the wind warning concludes at midnight.