Storm Ciarán: Flood warnings in place as UK braces for heavy rain

Parts of the UK are poised for heavy rain and flooding over the next few days ahead of the arrival of Storm Ciarán.

Flood warnings are in place across parts of England, Scotland and Wales, and there are also amber rain warnings in Northern Ireland.

Ciarán is set to bring strong winds and heavy rain to southern England and Wales when it arrives on Thursday.

It comes after a number of areas in the UK faced flooding at the weekend.

Forecasters warned that saturated ground conditions caused by the persistent wet weather will increase the risk of flooding.

The amber rain warnings issued by the Met Office for Northern Ireland - indicating a significant risk of flooding and disruption - cover parts of counties Antrim, Down, and Armagh from 21:00 GMT on Monday.

The Environment Agency urged the public to take care on coastal paths and promenades.

The agency also advised against driving through flood water, saying that just 30cm (12in) of flowing water was enough to move a car.

BBC Weather lead presenter Simon King has warned that Storm Ciarán will "bring the risk of further floods" in some areas.

"Stormy conditions are initially likely across southern England and the Channel Isles early on Thursday with damaging gusts of wind up to 80mph, perhaps even 90mph in the most exposed areas. Heavy rain will then spread north and east through the day."

• Storm Ciarán: What do you need to know?

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Chris Almond said the "winds could even gust up to 50 or 60 mph further inland".

He said a deep, low-pressure system will "bring heavy rain to much of the UK, but the heaviest rain is expected in southern and western areas with 20 to 25mm quite widely across the region but up to 40 to 60mm potentially over higher ground".

In Hastings, East Sussex, a shopping centre was evacuated after flood water ripped through one of its entrances

Homes were evacuated and shops left damaged after a County Durham village was hit by flooding

Tuesday is expected to be unsettled but quieter before heavy winds and longer spells of rain develop on Wednesday night into Thursday.

Homes were evacuated and shops were damaged after a village in County Durham was deluged by "several feet of water" over the weekend.

In Hastings, East Sussex, a shopping centre was evacuated after flood water ripped through one of its entrances.

On Sunday, a caravan park in Bognor Regis was submerged underwater. The town's Tesco supermarket car park was flooded, and a house roof was ripped off in heavy winds residents described as like a "tornado".

People in about 80 homes in the Lincolnshire village of Fiskerton have been warned they may have to live with the threat of flooding for some time after damage was found along a 30m (98.4ft) section of the River Witham, following Storm Babet.

National Farmers Union deputy president Tom Bradshaw said heavy rain brought by Storm Babet caused hundreds of acres of farmland to become inaccessible,

The Midlands and northern England are struggling with a "devastatingly" wet harvest, with many seeing next year's crops rotting underwater, he said.

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