With heavy rain expected over the next few days, the Environment Agency is warning communities in England to check their flood risk and sign up to flood warnings.

Currently the Agency has 47 flood warnings in place across the country where flooding is expected and immediate action is required, and a further 195 flood alerts where flooding is possible.

Heavy showers could bring disruption to communities in parts of southern and central England as rain falls on already wet ground, increasing the risk of flooding.

Environment Agency teams are out on the ground operating flood defences and clearing drainage channels to provide additional protection to communities that could be at risk.

Sheena Engineer, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

“We are monitoring rainfall and river levels closely and are already operating flood defences across southern and central England to help reduce the risk of flooding. Our teams have already put up temporary flood defences in a number of locations such as Bradford on Avon and are ready to deploy them in a number of communities including Guildford, Leatherhead, and Dorchester should they be needed.”

“We advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.”

The advice to stay safe during wet weather comes as the Environment Agency and the AA published research yesterday showing that three quarters of drivers (74%) would risk driving through flood water, despite it being the leading cause of death during a flood.

This autumn have seen rainfall records broken for South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire - the previous records were set in 2000. England as a whole has had its fifth wettest autumn since records began with 348mm.