Newquay: Flash flooding hits seaside town in Cornwall

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Roads in areas of Cornwall and Devon have flooded as heavy rain and thunderstorms hit parts of the UK for the second day running. It comes amid an abrupt end to the heatwave last week and follows weeks of little rain, which has caused drought and left land parched.

The Environment Agency has put out 19 flood alerts in areas of the Midlands and southeast England. There is also a warning for the South of the country, which will stay in place on Wednesday, as communities could be cut off by flooded roads, and the chance of fast-flowing or deep floodwater could cause danger to life.

Experts said heavy rainfall runs off very dry land, creating surface water floods, and will not soak into the ground to relieve drought-hit areas.

Footage and photos shared to social media showed torrential showers and flooding on roads in Newquay, Cornwall, and Bishop’s Tawton, Devon, and Haywards Heath in West Sussex.

One Twitter user shared a video of floodwater in Newquay, writing: “I’ve never seen rain like this. Our road is flooding #Newquay.”

Another Twitter user in Bishop’s Tawton, North Devon, said: “Flash flooding causing the use of sandbags to prevent water in the house, despite recent flood work by @EnvAgency urgent need for solutions.”

Scotland has also seen travel disruption on rail networks and roads on Tuesday following heavy showers. ScotRail warned passengers to expect delays on some routes, with some speed restrictions in place, while in Perth, Network Rail said it was dealing with flooding at the station.

Local authorities in Somerset said more than 50 tonnes of mud have been shifted off the A358 after a mudslide at Combe Florey on Monday, adding that the road was set to reopen between 3pm and 4pm.

Meanwhile, swimmers have been warned of sewage and pollution at several beaches on English coastlines, linked to the heavy rain. According to data gathered by environmental campaign group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), there has been storm sewage discharge into the waters at beaches in Cornwall, Devon, Sussex, Essex, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland and Cumbria.

A spokeswoman for SAS said other pollution warnings in place may not be linked to heavy rain, and those visiting the coast are advised to check its interactive map on their website before they swim.

Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: “We have got thundery showers possibly for a lot of peoples of the UK today. Within the warning area, it is important to note that thunderstorms could pop up anywhere. That being said, some areas could miss the rain altogether.”

Mr Dixon said parts of the country could see up to 50mm of rain within three hours.

He said storms likely to appear in areas of the Midlands could be “slow moving”, adding: “That risk of thunderstorms will move to southern areas of the UK as the day goes on.”

Mr Dixon said this risk will continue overnight and throughout Wednesday.

“Early on Thursday morning, the main risk that we are looking at is for the South East,” he said. “The risk then decreases as the day goes on.”

Elsewhere, the body of a teenage girl was found after emergency services were called to Crowswood Road in Stalybridge, west of Manchester, to reports of a person getting into difficulty in water on Monday, Greater Manchester Police said.

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