'Wettest-ever September' for some flood-hit areas

Heavy and persistent rain has hit areas already affected by flooding as the Met Office reveals that some counties have suffered their wettest-ever September.

A yellow weather warning for every county in the East of England has now been lifted with no more alerts in place.

Parts of the region, particularly in the west, were left badly affected by flooding last week, with many homes and roads left submerged.

Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire were among 10 counties that experienced their wettest September since records began in 1836 - and recorded more than three times their average September rainfall.

The Met Office said rainfall had a large amount of natural variability in the UK climate and long-term trends were harder to detect in monthly data.

However, there were longer term signals on climate change in wider rainfall datasets.

Five of the 10 wettest years in the UK since 1836 had occurred in the 21st Century, while the most recent decade has been 10% wetter than 1961 to 1990, the government agency said.

About 20 flood warnings, issued by the Environment Agency, also remained in place on Tuesday evening across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire.

Those living in at-risk areas were advised to "act now" to protect homes and loved ones.

Highways bosses said continuing rain and run-off was making it "extremely challenging" to clear flooding from part of the A421 in Bedfordshire, which was closed on 22 September.

They said they were clearing five million litres a day from the road between Bedford and Milton Keynes and were expected to remain there for at least the rest of this week.

Meanwhile, Vhari Russell, who lives in Brampton, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, said an overflowing brook had flooded her garden and those of neighbouring residents, while raw sewage had also come pouring down her driveway.

"It's bubbling up through the drains and we've had to cut a gully across to prevent it coming into our house," she said.

"There are so many houses in the village that are either completely isolated due to the volume of water or are flooded.

"There is one poor family who were flooded in February - they've only got back into their house and they're flooded again."

Ms Russell said she felt the infrastructure had not been developed as the village expanded.

A flood alert for the River Great Ouse - and affecting nearby watercourses - was still in place between Brampton and Earith.

Residents in Earith said they had never known the causeway alongside the river to flood so early in the year.

A neighbourhood watch group in Peterborough had also issued a community warning about a flooded road.

The Cardea Neighbourhood Watch, in Stanground, said part of the road under the Fletton Parkway overpass bridge was "flooded really badly".

Co-ordinator Darren Bisby-Boyd said an area about the size of a basketball court was flooded and water was as high as car wheel arches.

He said he had alerted Peterborough City Council.

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