Flood crisis as deluge goes on

BRITAIN is at flood crisis breaking point as a major incident was declared on one river and 500 alerts were issued across the nation.

- Chris Riches

Storm Henk the latest in a string of destructive weather fronts - has already claimed two lives after arriving to batter the UK three days ago.

With more heavy rain expected, the Met Office warned whole communities "may be cut off by flooded roads" as these images reveal.

They show how people were rescued by jeeps and lifeboat crews after the River Severn in Gloucester burst its banks, causing chaos.

An 87-year-old was killed after her car hit a fallen tree by Crays Pond, Oxon, at 5.25pm on Tuesday.

The death led Thames Valley Police to refer itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, as the tree was reported about 90 minutes before the fatal collision.

Two hours earlier, a man in his 50s from Bath died when a tree fell on his car near Kemble, Glos.

Hazardous

Yet more people were in danger in the Midlands, as Nottinghamshire County Council declared a major flooding incident - urging residents in areas by the River Trent to prepare for possible evacuations.

As tributaries from the rivers Derwent, Soar and Dove reached their peaks, high water levels were due to pass down the Trent.