Wet weather warnings issued for northern England

Heavy rain warnings have been issued for much of northern England as wet weather causes woe for commuters.

The Met Office is predicting, external up to 20mm of rain an hour in the worst affected regions.

Mancunian Way on the Manchester Inner Ring Road has been closed and Metrolink lines to East Didsbury and the airport suspended, external due to flooding at Firswood.

Thunder warnings have been issued, external for south-east England.

Flood warnings, external are also in place in Newcastle-Under Lyme and Rochdale.

Both swimming pools at Kidsgrove Sports Centre in Newcastle-Under-Lyme have closed due to heavy rain leaking into an electrical cupboard and the changing room lights.

A spokeswoman for Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council said: "We are hoping the problem can be sorted out quickly so we can reopen and apologise to residents for the inconvenience and thank them for their patience."

Also in Staffordshire, the A34 in Trent Vale is flooded, as is the A50 in Kidsgrove, after a stream broke its banks.

And police are warning motorists, external to stay away from Trescott Ford near Wolverhampton after a car was almost fully submerged by flood water.

Heavy rain could also affect a cliff at Mappleton in East Yorkshire, which is already at risk of collapse.

On Thursday, a passenger plane from Guernsey was struck by lightning as it approached Gatwick.

There have been a few flash floods around the Manchester area.

Andy Whitehead, a product manager at Maginus Software Solutions based at Roundthorn Industrial Estate in Wythenshawe, managed to get some pictures of the troubles faced by staff.

He said: "No lives lost, but we did have to roll up our trousers and wade across the car park to move our cars to dry land."

The Environment Agency aimed to keep rivers clear of blockages to allow water to flow away rather than flood during the heavy rain which fell on Sussex on Thursday.

Andy Gilham, flood and coastal risk manager, said: "Interestingly, our rain gauge in Newhaven yesterday caught about 74mm of rain in 12 hours.

"I believe that is one of the highest figures across the country so I think that shows how intense the storm was."

He said the agency "made sure pumping stations and other structures were working clearly".

"Whilst river levels were really high we didn't see any flooding directly from rivers," he said.

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