A sodden Christmas for thousands as homes, roads and railways lie under water

The Environment Agency issued its strongest warning - severe - for the south west over the next few days, which means danger to life and high risk of flooding.

Large swathes of land across the country lie under water with the emergency services battling to stem the flow of water. Thousands of homes already have been hit by flooding, forcing families to flee for Christmas.

An amber severe weather warning, which means roads could be dangerous, has been issued for Christmas Eve.

Another band of rain will move across the country, bringing up to 30mm in places, particularly south-facing slopes in Dartmoor and Exmoor.

It was expected that the rain would ease off for Christmas Day but the risk of floods remains high as water continues to run off high ground into roads and towns.