Flooding: Travel disruption as heavy rain hits Yorkshire on New Year's Day

The North of England has borne the brunt of much of the wet weather, although weather warnings are in place across other parts of England, Wales and Scotland.

An amber alert was in place for North-West England until 9am with the Met Office saying heavy rain had fallen across the region for several hours.

The forecaster said it was expected to affect parts of Cheshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire for a few hours.

The Met Office warning stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District.

It states that heavy rainfall is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.

TransPennine Express urged customers on its services not to travel before noon on Wednesday, saying flooding was causing “significant issues” in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.

The line was closed between Manchester Piccadilly and Warrington Central with disruption expected until the end of the day, according to National Rail.

Trains will not operate between Manchester Airport and the city’s stations on Wednesday, as well as routes between Manchester to Liverpool Lime Street and from both Liverpool and Manchester to Huddersfield, Leeds and York.

Flooding is also blocking the line between Todmorden and Rochdale with disruption expected until noon with further predicted flooding affecting services calling at Rotherham Central.

National Highways said the westbound M56 between Junction 6 for Manchester Airport and Junction 7 for Bowdon was expected to be closed “for some time” due to flooding across all three lanes.

A section of the A628 Woodhead Pass between Woolley Bridge and Flouch was closed in both directions, while flooding was also affecting the M6 between Junctions 18 and 20.

Other parts of the country were also seeing disruption with the M48 Severn Bridge closed in both directions due to high winds, while the A15 Humber Bridge was closed again to high-sided vehicles after reopening overnight.

Winds of up to 60mph are forecast across much of England and Wales all day on Wednesday, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office.

Forecasters say the high winds and rain may also cause flooding, particularly in the Midlands and Pennines, with the Environment Agency urging people to stay away from swollen rivers and avoid driving through floodwater.