'Terrifying flash flood chased me home before water burst through our barrier'

A flood victim has described the moment waters broke near his home and chased him down the road as Britain faced a deluge of rain today.

Heavy rainfall has caused havoc in parts of Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and London, leaving some areas submerged. As of earlier today, there were 21 flood warnings - meaning flooding is expected - and another 78 alerts issued for England by the Environment Agency. The widespread rainfall caused widespread travel disruption and damage to properties.

Bedfordshire Police said it had closed off part of Dunstable High Street due to "substantial flooding" as footage shared on social media showing cars battling high water around the Saracen's Head pub. in London, AFC Wimbledon were forced to postpone a League Cup tie with Newcastle owing to flooding, which also damaged their home ground.

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In Northamptonshire, Tim Maher and his partner Carol Findon saw their two-storey home in Grendonpartially submerged overnight with more than a foot of water. Tim said: “We haven't had much sleep and at least eight houses on our road have been impacted.

“We've had an awful lot of rain in recent days and some forecasters were warning we could see a month's worth of rain in 24 hours. I have an app on my phone which tracks river levels and at around 8.45pm it rocketed up. I decided to drive down to the bridge and saw the water breaking the banks and coming down the road towards me.

"I quickly turned around, drove home and put up the flood barrier we've got up against the door. It kept out a lot of the water but we've had about an inch overnight. We've had some damage to the carpets, settees and other furniture.

“The most difficult bit will be drying out the structure. It would be nice to get a permanent solution to this problem."

The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for millions of people in England - with more than 100mm of heavy rain expected today. The weather warning for most of England came into force at 5am and will last until 9pm, sweeping over Birmingham, Nottingham, Worcester and Hull. Parts of England could experience more than a month’s worth of rain on Monday - which is equivalent to an average September rainfall.

Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said: “First thing on Monday morning then we see an amber weather warning come into force. It stretches between Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and up towards the Wash and the Humber.

“This area in particular, during Monday, we could see over a month’s worth of rain falling, and with the rain we’ve already seen over the last couple of days this certainly has the potential to bring some disruption and flooding in locations and here it is very important we do take care over the course of the day."