Cornwall and Devon hit by heavy rain and flooding

Cornwall and Devon have been hit by flooding, with a number of road closures in place after heavy rain.

Devon County Council Highways reported a number of roads had been affected by flooding, including Tavistock, Lee Mill and the River Axe.

Staff at the Axminster Inn said there was "plenty of flooding" in the area and people were finding it hard to get in and out of Axminster.

A yellow rain warning is in place for Cornwall and Devon until 19:00 GMT.

There are several flood warnings in Cornwall, including for the rivers Helford, Fal, Lynher, Plym, as well as Tory Brook and the upper River Tamar.

There are also flood warnings in place in Devon along the rivers Axe and Yarty, as well as Curry and Hay moors.

Coleridge Bridge in Ottery St Mary has been closed and will remain so "for the forseeable future for inspections and repairs" due to a fallen tree.

The Environment Agency's area duty manager Kevin Ward said if people were in a flood alert area they needed to prepare.

"That means getting together documents, medicines, and keep an eye out for a flood warning," he said.

"If you're in a flood warning area you need to act, that means turning off gas and water and electricity, move things upstairs if you live in a house to protect any items."

Mr Ward added: "Just because the rain has stopped doesn't mean the danger has passed.

"We want people to keep an eye out for the flood warnings in their area."

Annabel Jackman, 79 from West Milton, said her and her husband had made their own flood defences.

She said: "The local builders were giving away sandbags. I was too late to get any filled but I bought some sand and filled them last night and built a dam."

More than 60mm of rain has fallen so far today across parts of Cornwall and Devon, this follows a very wet spell of weather earlier this week especially Sunday night and Monday.

It's not unusual to see heavy rain in December but the rainfall rate has been unusually high on Thursday morning; rainfall rate is how much rain falls in an hour and therefore how the ground, streams and rivers respond.

Over high ground we've had rainfall rates of between 16 and 20mm in an hour overwhelming drains and streams.

Light rain is 0.5 to 1mm per hour, moderate 1-4mm per hour and heavy 4mm or higher so rates of 16-20mm per hour are exceptional.

Jen Murphy, the Highways Control Centre team leader, said: "My main advice to people who are out on the road today is to take care and be aware of the fact roads are flooded."

A statement from the Met Office when it released its warning said: "A band of rain will move eastwards across the area during Thursday before clearing during the evening."

It said some communities might be cut off by flooded roads, and delays or cancellations to trains and bus services were possible.

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