Britain braced for floods as more rain on way after wettest April in 100 years

The victim and a dog died when the car they were travelling in became completely submerged in 5ft of fast-flowing water as it drove across a flooded ford in Hampshire.

In Yorkshire, a flood warning remained in place along the River Ouse at Naburn Lock while less serious alerts were in place for stretches of the River Don, River Aire and in the Holderness area.

And with up to 1.2in of rain forecast for southern England for overnight, the Environment Agency is on “high alert” for flooding amid fears that already-saturated river catchments will struggle to cope with more downpours.

This month is already the wettest April across the UK in records dating back a century to 1910, according to provisional figures released by weather experts at the Met Office.

The figures up to April 29 showed an average of 4.8in so far this month, almost double the long term average for April of 2.7in and beating the previous record of 4.7in set in 2000.

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said it remained on high alert for flooding across southern England, but particularly in Somerset, Dorset and Devon.

“River flows are high after this weekend’s rainfall and we are keeping a close watch on river levels as well as checking defences and clearing any potential blockages to reduce the risk of flooding,” she said.

The bad weather claimed its first casualty when a man from the Middlesex area died in his car in Compton Wood, Hampshire, after the vehicle became “completely submerged”.

His 54-year-old wife was able to escape from the car, but the man had to be recovered from it and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The dog also died in the incident, according to fire crews who attended.

Inspector Jon Snook, from Hampshire police’s roads policing unit, said: “We believe the car drove into the ford from the Hampshire side where it appears as though it was swept downstream and became submerged.

“On arrival, we co-ordinated a rescue operation with the fire service to try and free the man.

“Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at the scene.”