Scotland weather: Heavy rain brings travel disruption on railways and roads

Roads in parts of the UK have flooded as heavy rain and thunderstorms sweep across the country for the second day running.

A Met Office yellow warning of heavy rain was in place in southern, eastern and north-eastern Scotland until 10am on Tuesday following a similar warning on Monday.

ScotRail had warned passengers to expect delays on some routes as speed restrictions were in place due to heavy rainfall.

In Perth, Network Rail said it was forced to deal with flooding at the station.

The flooding at Perth station following heavy rain. Picture: Network Rail Scotland/PA Wire

The organisation tweeted: “We’re dealing with flooding at Perth station that’s causing a signalling fault. Sorry if you’re being delayed by this incident. Our team have pumps in place to clear the floodwater ASAP.”

Train speed restrictions were in place in the Perth to Dunkeld, Larbert to Stirling and Gleneagles to Perth area and on the Alloa branch line.

Trains were limited to 40mph, or 20mph if the usual speed limit is lower.

On the roads, Traffic Scotland had warned surface water was affecting many routes and urged motorists to take care.

The Met Office also issued a yellow thunderstorm alert for England and Wales on Tuesday, warning of more flash flooding as well as transport disruption and power cuts.

The weather warning will stay in place on Wednesday for southern England, where communities could be cut off by flooded roads, and the chance of fast-flowing or deep floodwater could cause danger to life.

The Environment Agency put out 19 flood alerts in areas of the Midlands and south-east England.

It comes amid an abrupt end to last week’s heatwave and follows weeks of little rain, which has caused drought and left land parched.

Authorities moved Yorkshire to official drought status on Tuesday, following parts of the South West, southern and central England and the East of England.

Experts said heavy rainfall runs off very dry land, creating surface water floods, and will not soak into the ground to relieve drought-hit areas.

Footage and photos shared to social media showed torrential rain and floodwater sweeping through towns across southern England and Wales, including Newquay in Cornwall, Bishop’s Tawton in Devon, Haywards Heath in West Sussex, Port Talbot in south-west Wales, and Bridport in Dorset.

One Twitter user shared a video of floodwater in Newquay, writing: “I’ve never seen rain like this. Our road is flooding #Newquay.”

Another Twitter user in Bishop’s Tawton, north Devon, said: “(F)lash flooding causing use of sandbags to prevent water in house, despite recent flood work by @EnvAgency urgent need for solutions.”

Local authorities in Somerset said more than 50 tonnes of mud have been shifted off the A358 after a mudslide at Combe Florey on Monday.

Meanwhile, swimmers were warned of sewage and pollution at several beaches on English coastlines, linked to the heavy rain.

According to data gathered by environmental campaign group Surfers Against Sewage (SAS), there has been storm sewage discharge into the waters at beaches in Cornwall, Devon, Sussex, Essex, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Northumberland and Cumbria.

A spokeswoman for SAS said other pollution warnings in place may not be linked to heavy rain, and those visiting the coast are advised to check its interactive map on their website before they swim.

Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said the risk of thunderstorms in the South would continue throughout Wednesday.

“Early on Thursday morning, the main risk that we are looking at is for the South East,” he said.

“The risk then decreases as the day goes on.”

Elsewhere, the body of a teenage girl was found after emergency services were called to Crowswood Road in Stalybridge, west of Manchester, to reports of a person getting into difficulty in water on Monday, Greater Manchester Police said.