Wainfleet flooding: More homes evacuated

More homes are being evacuated following severe flooding in a Lincolnshire town.

Residents in 580 properties in and around Wainfleet will be moved amid concerns about flood defences along the River Steeping.

The Environment Agency said water levels remained high and a decision had been made to "evacuate the highest risk areas and the most vulnerable".

The town flooded on Wednesday after two months' worth of rain fell in two days.

The Environment Agency has described the situation as "unprecedented" after 132mm of rain fell between Monday and Wednesday.

Local MP Matt Warman said the town was "by no means out of the woods yet".

He said: "The Environment Agency is in the process of putting together two pumps that will start taking away some quantities of water", but he was unsure when they would be up and running.

The Conservative MP for Boston and Skegness praised the "incredible" multi-agency response to the flooding and offered "a huge thank you" to those involved.

Three RAF Chinook helicopters dropped 270 one-tonne bags of ballast to repair the bank on Friday.

However, City of Lincoln Council said the temporary repairs had started to deteriorate and the RAF had returned to "drop further ballast to shore up the repair".

Flood water was entering the Thorpe Culvert pumping station and the additional evacuations were a precautionary action as "there is a risk the pumping station may fail", Lincolnshire Police said.

The force has issued a list of about 140 postcodes in which homes could be affected.

It said residents should be prepared to be away from their homes "for around 48 hours" and asked people to move in with friends and family or attend a centre set-up at Richmond School in nearby Skegness.

So far, residents have been asked to evacuate 580 properties near the river, according to the council.

Heavy rainfall affected large parts of England on Wednesday and Thursday with the Environment Agency issuing dozens of flood warnings.

The majority were across the Midlands and North West, but they extended as far as Northumberland and Christchurch in Dorset.

Passengers on a London to Nottingham train were stranded for eight hours in Corby on Thursday following a landslide.

Commuters were transferred to a second train which also became stuck due to flooding on the line.

Food and water ran out onboard and one woman collapsed.

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