Several villages in the south west of England were cut off by floods today as up to 39mm (1.5ins) of rain fell in under 12 hours.
Police and fire crews were called out to dozens incidents after the torrential downpour fell on already saturated ground, causing further misery for residents.
The flash floods caused chaos as commuters and homeowners dealt with delays after severe weather conditions caused rail and road closures.
Schools were also closed and landslips reported as Environment Agency issued 113 flood warnings – 74 of which were for areas in the South West and Midlands.
Avon Fire and Rescue rescued a woman in labour trapped in her home at Bishop Sutton, Somerset.
Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue said they had been called to more than 50 incidents as 39mm of rain fell in a twelve hour period.
They received more than 300 calls for help since 2.00am this morning.
The villages of Yealmpton and Tamerton Foliot in Devon were described by residents as “impassable”.
Homeowner Nora Tisdall said her daughter, a teacher, was unable to travel to work as the main road had been closed.
She said: “The stream is pouring out over the road like a waterfall. The village is totally impassable.
“My daughter cannot get out to travel to work and I’m worried that if she tries another way she might get stuck. I’ve lived here 21 years and I’ve never seen it flood.”
The village of Dinhams, near Ruishton, Somerset, which sits just infront of the River Tone, were also cut off.
Daniel Hobson, 32, lives in a bungalow in the village and was concerned that more rain fall would cause his home to flood.
He said: “I woke up around 7am and there was a bit of a puddle out there and it has gradually got worse and worse as the day went on. Now it is literally lapping at my front door.
“I have sandbags there but they don’t seem to be doing a lot, when a fire engine went past earlier the wave it created sent the water over the sandbags and has left a nice little puddle in my hallway.
“I don’t have anywhere to go if it does flood either, I have two cats and a very excitable dog who absolutely loves the water, it would be a nightmare.”
Two large landslips were reported on the B3192 near Teignmouth Golf Club, Devon and a further slide was reported on a train line near Chippenham.
Rail services were also ground to a halt after lines were submerged and trains stranded.
Passengers were warned not to travel unless necessary and those who did travel were told to expect delays of up to two hours.
First Great Western, who operate the line between London and Bristol and further afield to Cardiff, said they had cancelled a number of trains during the day and were now running a limited service.
A spokeswoman for the service said: “We are trying to keep things moving but we need to keep things safe too.
“We are going at a very slow speed. We are currently operating an hourly service to Bristol and Cardiff and trains will be very crowded as a result.”
