Breaking news, sport, travel and weather updates from across Lincolnshire.

More than 580 houses in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, were evacuated when a river burst its banks.

Image source, PA

As the operation to tackle flooding in Wainfleet continues, here's what we know now about the situation in the town as of Monday evening:

• Almost 600 properties in Wainfleet remain evacuated
• Two flood warnings remain in place for Lincolnshire as of 18:00 on Monday
• Water level had dropped by at least 11cm by Monday morning, police said
• Emergency response to flooding in the town to continue until Friday
• Engineers working on permanent repair to damaged bank
• High-volume pumps on standby in Wainfleet for more rain
• Thorpe Culvert pumping station is "significant priority" - Police boss
• Lincolnshire residents urged to limit water use

The volume of water being pumped from the flood-hit River Steeping into the sea has caused a marked channel used by sailors to wash away.

Image source, Google

Michael Clark, president of the Gibraltar Point Sailing Club, said the floating buoys and standing posts used by sailors to gain entry and to exit Gibraltar Point (pictured) had now disappeared.

He said: "The local lifeboat has been informed because it sometimes uses the channel to bring boats in for refuge and the coastguard has also been informed.

"But it's really to make Wash sailors in Lincolnshire and Norfolk aware that currently the channel is not navigable."

Mr Clark said the club had marked the channel for decades.

No boats have been damaged, but it could be some time before the channel is remarked.

Keeping a pumping station near Wainfleet in operation is now a "significant priority" as emergency services continue to tackle flooding in the town, a Lincolnshire police boss has said.

Image source, Press Association

Assistant Chief Constable Shaun West said at one point the water system at the pumping station at Thorpe Culvert was so heavily saturated that part of the site was submerged, leading to the evacuation of nearly 600 people from their homes.

He said: "If that had been lost, that would have been to the peril of a large number of homes in Wainfleet. We managed to keep that so it's still working and it's a significant priority measure for us to make sure we do not lose that."

Those 600 homes were still at risk, Assistant Ch Con West added.

He said there had been concern that blocking the breach on the River Steeping could put pressure on other areas of the river bank.

That breach, and the flooding at the pumping station at Thorpe Culvert, remain the two main areas of concern, he said.

Twelve high-volume pumps are currently being used to support Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue Service's efforts to tackle flooding in Wainfleet.

Image source, Press Association

Six of these pumps are operational and six are on standby in case the flood waters rise, according to Assistant Chief Fire Officer Dan Quinn.

These pumps are in addition to two huge pumps which have been brought in by the Environment Agency.

Assistant Chief Fire Officer Quinn said those two pumps had taken 96 hours to become operational, and in the interim, the fire service's pumps had been in place making sure the situation in Wainfleet didn't get worse.

He said: "This has been a period where we can recharge our resources, give our staff an opportunity to refresh.

"We're getting ready at our strategic holding area at Skegness Fire Station, so we're bringing assets from around the country as far as Manchester and West Midlands, getting ready to deploy to the Wainfleet area should the flood waters rise over the next few days."

Lincolnshire Wildlife Park has been hit hard by the flooding which has hit the county.

One parrot died at the park due to floodwater, which at one point stood at 3ft deep.

BBC Radio Lincolnshire's Harry Parkhill has been at the scene:

People in Lincolnshire are being urged by the region's water company to limit their use of showers, dishwashers and washing machines while the county continues to be affected by flooding:

More than 225 Olympic-sized swimming pools' worth of water was pumped out of flood-hit Wainfleet and into the sea in one night, the Environment Agency has confirmed.

Image source, Lincolnshire Police

Two high-volume pumps have been deployed at Wainfleet, which can pump five swimming pools' worth of water away from the town every hour.

In its latest update, the Environment Agency (EA) said the picture in the town was currently improving, with the breach repair on the River Steeping holding and river levels slowly dropping.

Engineers are working on the best option for a permanent repair to the damaged bank, according to the agency, but getting equipment and materials to the area has been difficult.

Over the weekend, EA staff have been considering engineering options and sourcing supplies.

Staff at the agency continue to monitor the weather conditions as the Met Office is forecasting thunderstorms.

A breach in the River Steeping responsible for flooding scores of homes in Wainfleet was not caused by badgers, the Environment Agency has said.

Image source, Press Association

Former county councillor Chris Pain has repeated claims the breach had been caused by burrowing badgers and in February 2016 Matt Warman, MP for Boston and Skegness, blamed the animals for damaging flood defences.

But a spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "The breach in this flood bank was not caused by badgers. The banks were put under extraordinary pressure because of the extreme amount of rainfall.”

He said they have a procedure for relocating badgers that do burrow in to river banks and work closely with Natural England to ensure they do not breach laws around interfering with badger setts.

This image, tweeted by Ch Insp Phil Vickers, shows the location of the Environment Agency's high volume pump and the pumping station set up to tackle the flooding in Wainfleet:

Earlier, the Environment Agency said it had already "shifted 225 Olympic-sized swimming pools' worth of water".

A parrot has died at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park after the site became flooded following heavy rain.

Image source, Media Lincs

Madu the parrot had been with owner Steve Nichols for about 20 years.

Mr Nichols said: "We had a surge through the park and, for whatever reason, she decided to go down into one of low boxes. Sadly I think it was a mixture of the cold, the shock and everything that she just passed away.

"We took all the animals that were on the high points and moved them higher and the ones which were on the lower points, moved them to higher points, and moved water away from them."

The park, near Friskney, has had to close due to the flooding which at one point was 3ft deep.

Mr Nichols said the park had been hard hit by the flooding.

"Being closed for a week, we're well in to £25,000 worth of losses. I couldn't even say what it's going to cost to move forward," he said.

The charity's entire stock of winter bedding had been used up making sure the birds had dry bedding, he added.

An emergency airspace restriction over flood-hit Wainfleet and Thorpe Saint Peters - aimed particularly at drone users - has now been lifted, police say:

Firefighters from South Yorkshire have been helping clear flood water following heavy rain in Lincolnshire last week.

Image source, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue

Nearly 600 homes have been evacuated in Wainfleet after two months' worth of rain fell in just two days causing a nearby river to burst its banks.

Image source, Dave Rogers

The emergency response to heavy flooding in Wainfleet will continue until at least Friday, the head of emergency planning has said.

Image source, Press Association

Ian Reed, from Lincolnshire County Council, said the main priority would always be the people of Wainfleet and their safety.

"We had meetings yesterday looking at how this week could pan out. We've had more than 500 people in response to this and our main priority - and always will be - is the people in Wainfleet and their safety, and giving them up to date information," said Mr Reed.

"What we're also trying to do at the moment is to give some very tired staff a bit of a break before this next weather front comes in. Hopefully we should be OK in Lincolnshire, but we need to monitor it and make sure all those staff are refreshed and ready to go again.

"With the weather system being forecast at the moment, we won't switch to any sort of recovery until after Friday to make sure we're ready to respond and we've got all the resources on the ground ready to go if the weather does hit in Lincolnshire again."

Rail passengers are being reminded the line between Boston and Skegness remains closed due to flooding.

Image source, East Midlands Trains

East Midlands Trains say the line will not reopen before tomorrow at the earliest.

A rail replacement bus service is currently running between Boston and Skegness.

Water levels in the flood-hit town of Wainfleet have dropped by about 11cm, according to Lincolnshire Police.

Image source, Press Association

Nearly 600 homes have been evacuated in the area and it is not yet known when residents will be able to return.

Ch Insp Phil Vickers said although it was good news further heavy rain is forecast over the coming days.

"Over a period of five to six hours the water levels that we are measuring at different points around Wainfleet have dropped by about 11cm," he said.

"That's actually better than we were anticipating so that's really positive.

"The bank that was repaired by the RAF last week is still holding, but there is still a crack within it which causes us some concern and is a risk.

"The weather forecast for Tuesday going in to Wednesday is not good but if we can keep reducing those water levels and keep the community updated then that will be successful for us."

Drone footage released by Lincolnshire Police, external this morning shows the extent of the flooding in Wainfleet:

Just two flood warnings now remain in place in Lincolnshire after two were lifted this morning:

The areas currently affected are:

• Great Steeping and Firsby, external
• River Steeping in Wainfleet All Saints, external

Flood warnings mean flooding is expected and immediate action is required

Image source, PA

Lisa Gallagher
Weather presenter, BBC Look North

It'll be a breezy day today with plenty of cloud and showery outbreaks but there'll also be some sunny spells too: