Dozens rescued from caravan park after it’s submerged by major flooding

Thanks for following our live blog covering the snow, rain and flooding across the UK.

We’re now ending our live coverage, but we’ll be back with the latest tomorrow.

The chilly weather doesn’t look like it’ll be easing up any time soon unfortunately.

The Met Office is warning that Thursday night could see the lowest temperatures of the winter so far.

Discussing the forecast for the rest of the week, deputy chief forecaster Chris Almond said: ‘Thursday will see another cold night, with potentially the lowest temperatures of the winter so far.

‘-15°C or so is possible in locations with lying snow in Scotland or northern England.

‘In the early hours of Friday, a front arriving from the west will encounter the cold air in place over the UK.

‘This could bring further sleet or snowfall for some regions in the south and west, as well as a risk of ice for a time as it moves north-eastwards into central parts, but the extent of this is still uncertain.”

‘By Sunday, milder air will have moved in across much of the UK, meaning rain is more likely than snow as we get to the end of the weekend.

‘Northern Ireland and Western Scotland are most likely to see some showery outbreaks of rain and breezy conditions through Sunday, with conditions further south and east drier and more settled.’

Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said: ‘With cold weather persisting across the UK this week we have a number of severe weather warnings for wintry hazards.

‘Snow showers will continue to fall over Scotland, Northern Ireland and into Northern Wales and northern England too.

‘Where surface water and snow freeze overnight there is a risk of ice as temperatures widely dip below freezing.

‘There will however be good spells of sunshine for those away from northern coasts, though it’ll still feel cold in the northerly breeze.

‘Weather conditions will start to change from the southwest on Wednesday, with fronts from the Atlantic bringing milder air along with moisture.

‘As this moisture encounters the cold air, snowfall is expected particularly over higher ground and away from the coast.

‘However, there is still uncertainty about how far north these fronts will reach. They could either skirt the south or move into southern England.

‘Currently, a snow warning is in place, but it is not guaranteed. The situation is being closely monitored.

‘As the forecast is finely balanced, do stay up to date with the latest forecast for your area.’

A homeowner in Loughborough has been devastated after his home has flooded for the second time in the space of a year.

The man, who didn’t want to be named, was preparing to move back into his Belton Road home after it flooded last January and suffered serious damage.

He’s been living in alternative accommodation since then, and was preparing to move back in this week when the flooding started again on Monday.

He said: ‘They had almost got everything ready to move back in – all new downstairs. Now, all the new stuff, the new items, have got to be repaired and replaced again.

‘They will potentially tell us it’s all got to be scrapped.

‘Last year everything downstairs – the carpets, flooring, furniture – all were damaged.

‘In the space of a year, it’s just unbelievable that it’s happened again.

‘I can’t comprehend this all, you never think it’s going to happen in this area.

‘It’s the Grand Union canal – it seems like there’s a weak point that just sort of overflows and just all comes cascading down this way.’

The Met Office has just put a new weather warning in place, covering north west England and the north of Wales.

It runs from 5pm this afternoon until midday on Wednesday, January 8.

A spokesperson for the forecaster said: ‘Afternoon and evening showers will slowly ease back to coasts Irish Sea coasts, allowing ice to form on untreated surfaces inland.

‘Showers will be a wintry mix, with 1-2cm accumulating on ground above about 200m before they begin to ease.

The A1 is closed northbound in Lincolnshire between the B6326 near Newark-on-Trent and the B1174 near Grantham due to extensive flooding.

The road had been closed in both directions since Monday, but the southbound closure has since lifted.

A National Highways spokesperson said: ‘Contractors are on-site with specialist equipment to mitigate the impact of the flooding and ensure safe passage once the situation improves.

‘Extensive water accumulation is affecting the road, and the closure is expected to remain in place until further assessment and clearing operations are completed.

‘A full assessment of the flood levels and safety conditions is underway.

‘Local roads and alternative routes may also be affected due to high water levels in the surrounding areas.

‘Expect delays and use caution when travelling in affected areas.’

As we approach rush hour, there are several incidents ongoing across the UK impacting train services.

Here’s the latest from National Rail:

• Buses replace trains between Llandudno Junction and Blaenau Ffestiniog
• Poor weather is affecting Northern services
• Poor weather is affecting Great Western Railway services
• Poor weather is affecting Merseyrail services

The following operators are not impacted by the weather at present. However, you are still advised to check before travelling:

• Poor weather may affect ScotRail services
• Poor weather may affect Transport for Wales services

The coldest nights of the year are expected this week, with temperatures potentially reaching -14°C on Wednesday night and -16°C on Thursday night.

This will impact both the northeast of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.

These cold temperatures mean that sleet, snow and rain will hit northern Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Yellow warnings for snow and ice are in place from Tuesday afternoon until Wednesday at midday.

Southern England and parts of London are also braced for snow, with a yellow weather warning in place from 9am until midnight tomorrow.

There is a small chance of power cuts and even the potential for rural communities to be cut off.

People and vehicles could also become stranded in the snow.

While large parts of southern England have been impacted by severe flooding, it is a different picture in the north.

The freezing temperatures mean people woke up today to a soft blanket of white snow.

It is not just humans who have been enjoying the white stuff – the dogs have been as well.

Sarah Bool, Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire, has said that the Environment Agency were too slow to issue flood warnings.

She said ‘flood warnings are actually coming hours after flood events have occurred’, adding it was an ‘issue across my constituency’.

But Emma Hardy from Defra said the ‘majority’ of flood warnings were issued with ‘timely notice’.

‘I am now looking at situations in which those warnings were not received in time with the Met Office and the Environment Agency, to understand why that has happened and how we can improve it,’ she said.

‘We need to ensure that people are getting those warnings as quickly as possible so that they can take the actions needed.’

Pictures taken today show the village of Quorn in Leicestershire engulfed in deep floodwater.

Many of the fields and roads now resemble huge lakes, following heavy rainfall over the last few days.

Residents at the Proctors Pleasure Park have spoken about how the flooding at the park is the highest ever’.

Neil Monteith, 49, owns a caravan on the front row of the park and he said: ‘(The water) is the highest I’ve seen it, I’ve never seen it this bad before.’

He added that he no longer lives in the caravan and only keeps furniture inside but said that it is ‘more than likely’ damaged.

A woman who lives near the Proctors Pleasure Park and did not wish to be named said: ‘They put in new flood defences – it used to flood all the time then it stopped, but this is unprecedented.

‘It’s a flood plain, that’s what it’s for but they build houses on it and nobody will acknowledge it or accept it.’

At least 300 properties have flooded since the start of this year, the Environment Agency has said.

It has urged people to ‘remain vigilant’ while flood warnings remain.

There is a risk that the mixture of melting snow and sludge could cause further disruption in parts of England on Tuesday and tomorrow.

Floods minister Emma Hardy says: ‘The government is working at pace to accelerate the building of flood defences through our new floods resilience taskforce, so we can continue to protect people and their homes.’

Drone footage shows the scale of the flooding that has impacted Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire.

Across England, there are also 125 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 300 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible.

A resident who lives on a narrowboat on the River Soar has said this is the highest she has ever seen the water levels.

Deena Ingham, who has permanently moored up her narrowboat for the winter, told Metro the water is 3cm higher than last year’s winter floods at 252cm.

The normal height of the river is 140cm, so has increased dramatically thanks to the ‘danger to life’ warning.

Deena said she is lucky though because her narrowboat is between a weir and loch, is tied up to the towpath, and is floating because of the floodwater.

But she feels sorry for the residents left submerged at nearby Proctors Park.

‘The fire brigade evacuated five residents from the park and tractors and land rovers have been in to help with the rescue efforts.

‘Right now the skies are bright and I can see a helicopter and drones circling above but the clouds are starting to get darker again.

‘One person further down the river was evacuated by the fire brigade overnight but luckily our boats have held.

‘It is a horrible picture for those who have been flooded in the caravan park.

‘Flooding events make me wonder if I would ever want to buy a house again in low-lying areas.

‘The community has come together and the landlady at the Sawbridge Inn opened up and ran a tea and coffee station for people.’

A man is seen being rescued from the submerged Proctors Pleasure Park near the River Soar in Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire.

Weather warnings are still in place for snow and ice across large parts of the UK after severe flooding and snow caused travel disruption and school closures.

Two new weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued by the Met Office.

The yellow weather warning for snow and ice is in place from noon today until noon tomorrow in parts of northern and western Scotland.

This means that more rain, sleet and snow showers will lead to some travel disruption.

There is a risk that up to 5cm of snow could fall, with up to 10cm in areas above 200 metres.

One other yellow warning for snow and ice will come into force in Northern Ireland at 3pm today and last until noon tomorrow.

Snow and icy patches are likely to lead to some disruption to travel, the Met Office confirmed.

Great swathes of the UK have ground to a halt with weather warnings and travel chaos.

This week, firefighters in Leicestershire rescued 59 people, while the body of a man was recovered from an area of flooding in North Yorkshire.

A major incident was declared last week after torrential rain left parts of Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire flooded.

Flood warnings have been issued across many parts of the UK following snowfall as well.

An expert has warned that more lives will be put at risk if action is not taken soon.

Despite some airports reopening this morning, lengthy delays have been reported.

According to Flightradar, Manchester Airport currently has the longest wait time, with an average 100-minute minute wait for departures.

This is followed by Aberdeen Airport that currently has an average 78-minute wait time for departures and Bristol Airport coming in third with a 54-minute wait.

Heavy snow and freezing conditions have delayed many flights taking off from these airports this morning.