Eastern England will be on the brink of further flooding as more rain hits the region over the next 48 hours, according to weather forecasters.

Experts at the Meteorological Office said the half-an-inch (12mm) of rain due to fall on Cambridgeshire and Essex during Friday could be enough to cause more flooding.

But they predict that the rain will not be heavy enough to reproduce the conditions seen at the beginning of this week.

Forecasters describe the region as being on a "knife-edge" and are asking residents to be vigilant over river levels.

Rain band

Andy Yeatman, at the Met Office, said more rain would cause problems for eastern areas as parts of Cambridge and Essex are saturated after getting up to three inches (75mm) in just a few hours on Sunday.

There is a band of rain that will track across the west of England from late afternoon on Thursday, heading east and southwards, reaching previously flooded areas late on Friday, he predicted.

"People on flood plains in the east will be living on a knife-edge over the next 48 hours or so," he said.

A flooded street in Woodford, Essex

"It will be a heavy spell of rain.

"If we were getting two inches of rain then there would definitely be flooding," he said.

"But with half-an-inch it is more difficult to predict.

"It will mean watching all the rivers - some will get away with it but for others it will mean problems and the risk of flooding."

Flood warnings

The heaviest rain, up to one inch (25mm), will fall in the South West and in the Midlands from late afternoon on Thursday as the band of weather tracks across the country.

It is forecast to begin raining in the east from late afternoon on Friday but the front is predicted to reduce producing only half-an-inch of rain in Cambridgeshire and Essex.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "If we get substantial rain in eastern areas then the rivers are going to react and it is going to cause problems.

"The ground is so sodden that when the water lands the ground is not absorbing water so river levels will rise quickly."

Residents in Kelvedon, Essex, dry out their homes

Four flood warnings remain in force across England: on the Pant, Blackwater and Brain rivers between Braintree and Witham in Essex; on the Colne and Roman rivers between Great Yeldham and Colchester in Essex; on the River Cam between Cambridge and Upware in Cambridgeshire; on the River Soar between Cossington and Cotes in Leicestershire.

Residents in Essex and Cambridgeshire greeted the forecast with dread.

Renee Hockley-Byam is living in bed-and-breakfast accommodation with her husband after their cottage in Bradwell, near Braintree, Essex, was completely flooded on Sunday.

"The prospect of more flooding is horrifying. Having been flooded I didn't realise quite how horrible it is and how long it is going to take to repair," she said.

Break needed

"We will be out of the house for three months when we expected to be back in weeks. The whole prospect is quite frightening."

Ted Pateman, leader of the parish council in Bourn, near Cambridge where 20 homes were flooded earlier in the week, said that villagers needed some respite from the weather.

"I think the water levels have subsided enough here for us to stand more rain," he said.

"But it's going to be a menace as so many people are trying to dry out their houses. Insurance companies have supplied dehumidifiers and hot blowers.

"It's essential to get these houses dried out because only then can you assess the damage and it's difficult to get in and out of the them when they are surrounded by a thick layer of mud."

The rain is forecast to become lighter on Sunday with the start of next week being dry.