© Mark Kerrison/Demotix/Corbis
Flooding from the river Thames at Datchet in Berkshire.
Flooding from the river Thames at Datchet in Berkshire.
Heavy rain and winds of more than 60mph are predicted to die down throughout Sunday but the brief respite will be broken by another storm arriving Monday night. More storms will continue to batter Britain until next weekend, it is predicted.
In Chertsey, Surrey police are investigating whether flooding was linked to the death of a seven-year-old boy, named in reports as Zane Gbangbola, who died after feeling unwell. An elderly woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries after a tree fell on to her car in Birmingham.
The West Country has been left completely cut off by rail and operators have put on replacement bus services and slashed ticket prices for passengers. Flooding at Athelney and between Taunton and Bridgwater in Somerset means that all mainline routes to the region from London have been closed. The diversionary route via Yeovil is closed at Crewkerne because of a landslip and is expected to remain shut for up to a week.
A stretch of the rail line connecting Cornwall to the rest of the country fell into the sea at Dawlish in Devon when a section of the sea wall was destroyed by high tides and stormy seas.
