Northumberland: Floods cause travel disruption as trains suspended

Heavy overnight rain has caused major travel disruption in Northumberland.

Trains were suspended on the East Coast mainline between Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed, while there have been reports of properties flooding in and around Belford.

No train services were running north to Edinburgh on Tuesday morning, with southbound services ending at Berwick.

Flood warnings are also in place in Belford and Waren Mill due to the heavy rain and snowmelt.

As well as the two flood warnings issued by the Environment Agency (EA), two flood alerts have been issued - where flooding is possible - along the River Till and on the coastal rivers in the north Northumberland area.

An EA spokesperson said that up to 60mm (2.4in) of rainfall had fallen in the area over the last 24 hours, and that, along with the melting snow, had caused a rapid rise in river levels.

There were reports of a "small number of flooded properties" in Belford, they said.

The spokesperson added: "While the current rainfall has mostly passed, we have operational teams out in communities and continue to monitor the forecast and river levels over the coming days."

Northumberland county councillor Guy Renner-Thompson told the BBC that it is the first time in 15 years that properties in Belford have been flooded as the Belford Burn broken its banks.

On the roads, there are delays west of Corbridge on the A69 because of flooding.

London North Eastern Railway (LNER) has advised passengers not to travel north of Newcastle in either direction while they have also said that tickets issued for today will be eligible for use tomorrow, Wednesday 6 December.

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