East Midlands flood warnings as melted snow raises rivers

Slash Lane, near Loughborough, was one of a number of roads in Leicestershire closed by flooding

A series of flood warnings are in place in and around the East Midlands.

There are warnings - meaning flooding is expected - along several rivers including at caravan parks on the River Trent at Tolney Lane Caravan Park and River Soar near Barrow.

The Environment Agency said some river levels were rising because of recent rainfall and the weekend's melted snow.

Councils are warning drivers not to ignore road closure signs.

High river levels are threatening some nearby properties, like these at Radcliffe on Trent, Nottinghamshire

On Thursday, Nottinghamshire County Council closed the A617 in Newark between the Cattle Market Roundabout and Fox Inn.

It also reminded motorists not to drive through flood water, as it is often not obvious how deep flood water is, and warned other hazards like potholes can be hidden beneath.

In and around Nottinghamshire, flood warnings are in place for the River Maun at Haughton, Milton and West Drayton and the Soar at Zouch Island.

There are also warnings for the River Trent at Carlton on Trent, including Beck Cottage, at Cavendish Bridge and at Collingham and Girton.

Analysis

By Sara Blizzard, BBC East Midlands Today weather presenter

The weather will be staying unsettled over the weekend so more rain is forecast.

Today will be showery but tomorrow we can expect a band of heavy rain to move in during the morning across Leicestershire and Rutland, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. This will clear during the morning to leave heavy blustery showers by the afternoon once the rain has departed. Sunday will also see heavy showers or more prolonged periods of rain and strong winds.

Although showery at the start of next week, there are signs that the weather might become more settled again from midweek.

In Leicestershire, there is a flood warning on the River Soar at caravan parks near Barrow upon Soar and in Derbyshire for the River Amber at Ambergate.

Around 17 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, are in place for the East Midlands and surrounding areas, including the River Erewash, River Idle, River Leen, Day Brook and Tottle Brook, River Maun and River Meden.

A yellow weather warning for rain was lifted on Thursday.

Nottingham City Transport said its South Notts 1 service was diverting via Hoton and Cotes (A60 and A6006) due to flooding in Stanford-on-Soar.

But it added its Pathfinder 26 and Sky Blue 46, 47 services were back to their full routes after flooding disruption on Thursday.

Traffic service Inrix is reporting a number of road closures due to flooding in Leicestershire.

These are in Meadow Lane in Loughborough, Rearsby Road in Rearsby, Sileby Road in Mountsorrel and Syston Road in Cossington.