Flood warnings have been issued across the United Kingdom as wind and rain hits parts of the country on the first day of 2025.
Severe rainfall through the night resulted in flooding in a number of areas across the country.
People were trapped in their homes and work premises without running water, while others were rescued from cars stranded in floodwaters.
Some weather warnings for wind and ice remain in place for parts of the UK – and forecaster say temperatures will plummet overnight, with snow due to roll in over the weekend.
Wednesday’s flooding and disruption came after New Year’s Eve events across the country were cancelled due to bad weather.
Around 90mm of rain has fallen widely across north west England over the last 24 hours with over 100mm recorded on some hills in north Wales and Cumbria.
There are lane closures on several motorways and roads of north west England.
In Cheshire, the banks of the Bridgewater Canal collapsed with water pouring into surrounding fields at Little Bollington.
Police said they were working to evacuate nearby properties, while the M56 westbound between junctions 6 and 7 were closed.
The Environment Agency (EA) had issued 109 flood warnings in England, mostly concentrated in the North West.
There were also 11 flood warnings in place for north Wales and 17 warnings in place for Scotland.
