Image source, EPA

Flood warnings remain as clean-up operations get underway across many parts of England this afternoon. Here's where things stand:

• There are 59 flood warnings in place, primarily in the Midlands and Yorkshire, the Environment Agency says, and 114 less severe flood alerts around the country
• People left stranded on the M5 overnight have been rescued by emergency teams. The motorway between junctions 14 and 16 near Bristol has reopened after being submerged
• Rail services between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury in Shropshire remain cancelled, with disruptions expected to last all day after severe flooding at Wellington station
• Disaster response teams are out in Bedfordshire helping residents whose homes have been flooded near the Great River Ouse
• The A421 could take weeks to reopen, with significant damage expected to the road surface

• Residents have been evacuated in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, after the River Ock burst its banks

• Fylingdales, North Yorkshire, has recorded the most rain since yesterday (81mm), while between 50mm and 70mm has been recorded in southern and central England

To keep up with the latest updates in your area, head to the website for you local BBC region, or alternatively, you can see the national picture here.

Image source, PA Media

River levels will still get higher after days of heavy rainfall, the Environment Agency says, warning that just because the rain has stopped, it doesn't mean the risk of flooding is gone.

“When the rain stops and it starts to clear, a bit like the scene right now, it’s then a case of that water working its way down through the smaller brooks that people have running through their back gardens or next to roads," Nick Green, incident manager for the West Midlands at the Environment Agency says.

“That goes into the large river systems and that’s going to take a few days to work its way down.”

Kate Marks, flood duty manager at the agency reiterated warnings to drivers not to risk driving through flood waters.

"It is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car," she says.

Martin Heath
Reporting from Northamptonshire

Image source, Kevin Saddington/BBC

Dozens of people have been rescued by firefighters from rising floodwaters in Northamptonshire.

Thirty-five people had to be helped to safety from a caravan park in Yarwell, near Oundle at 19:30 yesterday, following an evacuation order.

Two people and a dog were helped to safety from a boat earlier in the day at Islip mill, with specialist rescuers helping the Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service.

The fire service said it had dealt with eight weather-related incidents from 08:00 on Thursday to 10:00 this morning, and advised motorists to only travel if necessary and avoid driving in floodwater.

• Read more here

Jane Killick
BBC Three Counties Radio

It could take weeks to re-open a major road in Bedfordshire which has been closed by flooding, according to National Highways England.

Regional Director Martin Fellows said once they pump away more than 60 million litres of water sitting on the A421, it’s likely the carriageway underneath will need to be repaired.

He told BBC Three Counties Radio that the clear up operation “could well run into weeks.” He hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but “the best thing, to be perfectly honest, is if it would stop raining.”

A pumping station which was supposed to prevent the A421 from flooding has been unable to cope as the station itself was submerged under water.

• You can listen to the interview on BBC Sounds here

After a very rainy start to the day in much of England, it looks like things will brighten up for many people later - even if temperatures will remain cooler than normal for this time of year.

BBC Weather's Stav Danaos has the full forecast for you here:

Network Rail have released video of flooding on the line between Banbury and Bicester in Oxfordshire.

The water poured down banks alongside the rail tracks and flooded at least one tunnel, which forced the closure of the line for hours.

Network Rail says that while floodwater has since subsided, there’s still work to do to get the line fully reopened.

Take a look at the scenes from overnight:

Joe Inwood
Reporting from Kempston, Bedfordshire

At the bottom of Water Lane in Kempston, around 30 properties are either flooded or at risk of the water coming in.

Standing in the middle of the road, wearing waders and high-visibility kits, are Richard and Justin from the React Disaster Response charity.

They’ve been here since Wednesday evening distributing flood barriers, helping those who’ve already been hit and working out if anyone is vulnerable and needs rescuing.

Standing further up the road, which now looks more like a river, are a collection of local people. They seem in good spirits, but know that there may be worse to come.

This part of Bedfordshire hasn’t just been hit by rain, but also run-off from further upstream. That means the next 24 hours could bring further flooding.

Image source, Pete Harris

The market town of Stony Stratford in Buckinghamshire has seen plenty of rain in the last week.

The latest deluge has caused the northern part of the historic high street to flood.

Homeowner Pete Harris is hoping the water won't rise much further but says he's expecting the next 24 hours to be "stressful".

Flooding is still affecting rail travel around the West Midlands as we head into the afternoon, with no trains running between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury and a warning other services could be affected.

Last night some stations were inundated with floodwaters, such as Bournville station which you can see in the video below.

Parts of the West Midlands have seen flash flooding, leading to severe disruption - our colleagues there are reporting the latest, which you can follow along here.

Let's bring you some of the latest pictures from around the country today, following the heavy rain and flooding last night.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, EPA

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Bethan Nimmo
BBC Radio Oxford

Jon House lives in Abingdon in Oxfordshire and describes water rising up through the floorboards in his property.

He decided to evacuate his family, including his six-month-old son, and has expressed a frustration at the lack of action to prevent flooding in the area.

"Nothing's being done, no money's being spent to actually stop the houses flooding," he says.

"If the stream at the back was dredged, if they cleared that out, they could use what they dig out from the stream to create a bit of a barrier as well, just to prevent the flooding coming across."

But Graham Scholey from the Environment Agency tells BBC Radio Oxford that dredging would not prevent rivers bursting their banks.

"I can understand why people think that dredging and constant de-silting of rivers will prevent out-of-bank flooding," he says.

"And the reality is it doesn't - it's a bit of a sticking plaster."

Lewis Spindlove was sleeping in the passenger seat of his colleague's van as they returned home to Bristol on the M5 southbound, following a late bartending shift.

He awoke at about 02:30 to police moving traffic onto the hard shoulder.

"The deepest that we had to go through was probably about 15-20cm, so not particularly deep, but we were pushed all the way over," he says.

“I was absolutely bewildered by how much of the M5 was flooded, I’d never seen it that bad before."

Take a look at the video he filmed below:

As we just mentioned, the motorway has now reopened in both directions after parts were closed through the morning.

In the last few moments, the M5 motorway has reopened in both directions.

Avon and Somerset Fire and Rescue says traffic is now moving on the northbound and southbound carriageways which had been closed due to "significant flooding".

Steven Basterfield from National Highways earlier described Friday's downpours as "exceptional" and confirmed about 6,000 litres of water per minute had to be removed from the motorway.

Crews from Avon Fire and Rescue Service rescued three people from stranded vehicles.

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

Rain will clear today to leave us with a largely dry but chilly afternoon, with a brisk northerly wind and sunny spells.

Saturday will be dry for most of England and Wales, but we need to keep a very close eye on the forecast for Sunday as wet and windy weather is expected to spread in again.

Rain will be falling on very saturated ground, so there is a chance we will see more flooding.

There will also be the additional hazard of strong winds with gales that could become severe.

Some more travel news to bring you - this time on the East Coast Main Line in and out of London.

Rail firm LNER says that flooding between Peterborough and King's Cross has caused all trains to run at a reduced speed on all lines towards the capital.

"Train services running to and from these stations may be delayed," LNER says in a social media post.

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

Heavy rain continued across many parts of England and Wales overnight leading to some localised flooding and challenging conditions on the morning commute.

Since Wednesday, the wettest areas have been in north-east England where there has been one-month’s worth of rain in Fylingdales, North Yorkshire (81mm).

Across some central and southern areas of England, there's been around 50-70mm of rain since Wednesday morning.

Rainfall over the last few days adds to what has been an incredibly wet September for some in southern England.

In Woburn, Bedfordshire there has been four times the average September rainfall and now the wettest month ever recorded here.

Other locations in Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Herefordshire have had three times their monthly rain.

AFC Telford United were just an hour away from hosting a match when the floods hit.

"Within an hour it was under a couple of foot of water - not just the pitch, the whole stadium," club director Steve Pryce says.

It's "just like a swimming pool", he says, adding that it's "devastating".

Image source, AFC Telford United

The water, which poured in from a nearby street, flooded changing rooms, the gym, the car park and the pitch, and after the water drained away Pryce says it left mud everywhere.

He says it's the second time in three years the club has experienced a flood like this and he "can't imagine the cost involved yet".

The club expects to lose income from cancelled matches, on top of the cost of clearing up the mess, he says.

Image source, Network Rail

Rail lines at Wellington train station in Shropshire were completely submerged by flash flooding overnight.

Network Rail says its engineers and staff are on site and are working to reduce water levels as much as possible so the line can fully reopen.

As it stands, the line remains blocked and trains passing through Wellington have been cancelled.

Image source, West Midlands Police

Let's give you an overview of some parts of England which have been impacted by flash flooding:

• The M5 remains closed between junctions 14 and 16. Avon Fire and Rescue service says it is working with with National Highways to rescue people stranded in their cars after it was inundated by rainwater
• Rail services between Shrewsbury in Shropshire and Wolverhampton have been cancelled, with disruption expected all morning, after severe flooding at Wellington station and a tree fell on the line
• About 385 properties have flooded in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Kent and the home counties, according to the Environment Agency
• In Bedfordshire, there is concern the River Great Ouse could burst its banks at Kempston and a school has been closed due to staff and students not being able to travel
• Finally, in Gloucestershire, Tewkesbury Borough Council has been handing out sandbags to residents to protect their homes against flooding

Image source, Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service

Mike Goode, who runs a guesthouse in All Stretton in Shropshire, says he expects it to take days to clear all the stone washed into the village by the flash flooding.

Although the water has receded, it has left mud and stone everywhere, along with a 1m wide trench.

"How on earth we're going to deal with it I don't know," he says. "When you get mud into the house it's very difficult to clean up."

Goode has lived in All Stretton for 37 years and said that, while it was the worst flooding he has seen, he expects to see more flooding in the future.