Heavy downpours across large parts of northern England have led to surface water and river flooding in parts of Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Greater Manchester, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire.

River levels peaked in Sheffield and Rotherham overnight and are now starting to fall there, but they are still high in the Doncaster area, with further flood impacts anticipated over the coming 24 hours as water travels downstream.

The floods have severely disrupted transport on both the rail and road networks and, as at 1pm today (Friday 8 November) there were six severe flood warnings in south Yorkshire with a threat to life, 75 flood warnings and 103 flood alerts.

The Environment Agency continue to respond to the flood risk and are working closely with police, fire and rescue, local authorities and partners to reduce the risk of flooding and keep communities safe. On the ground, Environment Agency field teams worked through the night to operate flood storage areas and pump away flood water.

Into the weekend, the agency say the situation in northern England will improve. However bands of rain or heavy showers will fall on saturated ground across parts of south and west of England at times bringing a risk of minor surface water flooding.

Chris Wilding, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Heavy persistent rain has caused surface water and river flooding across parts of northern England. Ongoing river flooding is expected in South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire today.

“Our incident rooms are open and we are continuing to work closely with local authorities and partners to reduce the risk of flooding. Our field teams have been working through the night operating flood defences and deploying temporary flood barriers to help protect people and property. We advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to walk or drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.

“People in affected areas should check their flood risk, listen for updates on local radio, and follow the advice of emergency services.”