Flooding has caused "severe disruption" to rail services in the region, Northern says.

The following services have been affected:

• Crewe – Wilmslow
• Salford Crescent – Wigan Wallgate
• Macclesfield – Stoke-on-Trent
• Manchester Piccadilly – Chester
• Manchester - Chester via Altrincham
• Stockport and Buxton
• Wilmslow and Manchester Airport

It said it has not been possible to provide rail replacement services for all cancellations "due to the poor conditions of the roads".

Police are warning people in the Poynton area against driving.

The town clerk has tweeted that anyone affected is welcome at the Civic Hall.

Trains services between Heald Green and Manchester Piccadilly have been suspended due to flooding.

Derbyshire Police have said a number of properties had been flooded across the High Peak, in particular in and around Buxton, Whaley Bridge and New Mills.

BBC Radio Manchester

We have a special flooding programme on air.

Listen on 95.1 FM : Digital : Freeview 719 and on BBC Sounds.

The North West has been battered by heavy rain all day, causing widespread disruption across the region.

Here's a summary of where things are at:

• A major incident remains in place in the Cheshire town of Poynton, where roads are blocked and some homes have been flooded
• The town's civic hall has opened as a place of refuge
• Nineteen flood warnings, external are in place across the North West, the North East, Yorkshire and the Midlands
• Flood water has also caused disruption to the motorway network, resulting in the closure of the M60 between Stockport and Cheadle
• Eleven people and four dogs have been rescued in Bramhall, Stockport from rising water, said Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service
• The rains are apparently easing, although more showers are expected throughout the night

Cheshire Fire Service says it is doing all it can to get to the areas and people affected by flooding.

BBC Radio Manchester

Norbury Hall Primary School will not be used as a polling station for the Hazel Grove by-election on Thursday after the heavy rain.

A mobile polling station will be set up in the Fiveways Pub car park on Macclesfield Road.

Police are warning people in the Poynton area against taking to the roads unless absolutely necessary during the floods.

Image source, PA Media

Cheshire Police said officers were "doing all they can" to get to anyone affected by the deluge.

The force has reminded people that Poynton Civic Hall is open for support and as a place of safety.

Phil McCann
BBC News

It's not normally a babbling brook here at Mayfair Close in Poynton just off London Road.

Looking over the garden fences what is normally a sedate little brook has clearly burst its banks and is flowing into load of gardens.

This cul-de-sac looks just like a river at the moment.

Down the road the civic hall is going to become a rest centre. The town council tells me the situation is particularly bad in Higher Poynton.

Here are some of the images of the state of the floods from around the region.

Seventeen flood warnings remain in place across the North West, the North East, Yorkshire and the Midlands.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, James Greer

Owain Wyn Evans
BBC weather presenter

Richard Stead
BBC Radio Manchester reporter

It is really, really bad in Bramhall in Stockport. It is pretty unprecedented stuff.

The weather has been horrendous. We have had torrential rain all day

In front of me at the main Bramhall roundabout, where three roads meet, is a lake about two feet deep at its deepest point.

About 10 minutes ago two men in a canoe were paddling around and were told to get out of the water by angry firefighters.

If they fell in, the firefighters would have to rescue them.

Thankfully the rain has stopped.

Image source, Richard Montgomery

Eleven people and four dogs have been rescued from the deluges in Bramhall, Stockport.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said it had been in the area since 16:00 helping people getting into difficulty in the rising water levels.

The A555 is going to be closed over night and into Thursday in both directions between the Woodford Oil Terminal and the A34, Stockport Council has said.

Parts of Hazel Grove, Cheadle Hulme and Bramhall have also been affected, the council said.

Train services are being seriously affected between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport and between Manchester and Crewe, Northern trains have said.

The torrential rain has closed the A555 in Stockport for the second time in three days.

The road is part of the government-funded Manchester Airport Relief Road project which opened in October 2018.

It suffered major flooding at the weekend.

Image source, PA

Image source, PA

A major incident has been declared in the Cheshire town of Poynton, where the downpours have hit roads, homes and businesses.

Vehicles were left trapped in the town, and a nursery, several homes and a farm were also swamped.

Macclesfield North and Poynton Police said several roads have been closed in Poynton town centre including:

• London Road
• Street Lane
• Park Lane
• Clumber road

Roads have been closed, rail services cancelled and homes flooded as severe downpours affect large areas ofthe north of England.

Image source, PA Media

A day of heavy rain has led to 16 flood warnings across the North West, the North East, Yorkshire and the Midlands.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Problems include:

• Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service has declared a major incident amid widespread problems in Poynton.
• Vehicles were left trapped in the town, and a nursery, several homes and a farm were also swamped.
• Poynton's town clerk posted a tweet to say people affected by the flooding were welcome at the town's civic hall.
• Flood water has also caused disruption to the motorway network, resulting in the closure of the M60 between Stockport and Cheadle earlier.
• Earlier a bridge collapsed as flash flooding hit part of North Yorkshire when a month's rain fell in four hours.

Mark Jordon, 54, told police he was only guilty of being insulted by a man's "vile comments".