UK weather live: Flooding shuts roads and schools as more heavy rain forecast tonight

A car is stuck in floodwater on the A421 in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, with only its open boot showing above the water.

At least 45 homes have been evacuated due to flooding in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Kent, and the Home Counties.

Environment Agency flood duty manager Sarah Cook said: “Due to heavy persistent rain and thunderstorms, there have been localised surface water flooding impacts in parts of England today. Environment Agency teams are out on the ground, and ready to support local authorities in responding to surface water flooding.

“We urge people to plan their journeys carefully, follow the advice of local emergency services on the roads and not to drive through flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.”

Anneliese Dodds, Labour MP for Oxford East and minister of state for development, has thanked the emergency services in her local area for dealing with the floods.

AFC Wimbledon’s Carabao Cup tie against Newcastle United has been postponed after “extensive overnight flooding” has caused a sinkhole near one of the corners of the ground.

London Fire Brigade said its 999 control officers have taken around 350 calls to flooding across the capital.

Firefighters have attended incidents in areas such as Ruislip, Uxbridge, Wimbledon and Carshalton.

The service said these included rescuing people trapped in cars, assisting people from their homes and responding to flooding in underground stations, roadways, residences and commercial properties.

A man from Northamptonshire has described the moment he saw a “wave of water” heading towards him during flooding on Sunday night.

Tim Maher and his partner Carol Findon, from Grendon, saw their two-storey home partially submerged overnight with more than a foot of water.

Mr Maher told PA: “We’ve had an awful lot of rain in recent days and some forecasters were warning we could see a month’s worth of rain in 24 hours.

“I have an app on my phone which tracks river levels and at around 8:45pm it rocketed up. I decided to drive down to the bridge and saw the water breaking the banks and coming down the road towards me.

“I quickly turned around, drove home and put up a flood barrier we’ve got up against the door. It kept out a lot of the water but we’ve had about an inch overnight. We’ve had some damage to the carpets, settees and other furniture. The most difficult bit will be drying out the structure.

“We haven’t had much sleep and at least eight houses on our road have been impacted. It would be nice to get a permanent solution to this problem.”

A hairdresser was cleaning up mud outside her salon in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, on Monday morning after floodwater reached knee height on Sunday.

Kirsty Brewer told the PA news agency it was the fourth time the business had flooded in the last six or seven years and the first time it caused thousands of pounds of damage.

The 31-year-old, who rents a chair in the business, said: “It started yesterday afternoon when the whole of Dunstable was flooded. It was up to your knee deep, the road comes down so we’re sitting in a bit of a well.

“We don’t open on Sundays or Mondays, so it’s not affected business in that way, it’s just a big clean-up. It was full of mud when we got here at 9am.

“This is the fourth time that it has happened in the last six or seven years, so we’ve got all the electricals up, we’re prepared. We know how to handle it. Because we are a listed building we’re not allowed a floodgate. The first time that it happened it was thousands of pounds worth of damage. It happened last year, it’s like a once-a-year thing.”

There are now 17 flood warnings across England, where flooding “is expected” and 68 alerts where “flooding is possible.”

if your area has a flood warning, the government advises in some circumstances to turn off your gas, electricity and water supplies. Move your family, vehicles, pets and important items to safety and follow advice from your local council or the emergency services.

Here is everywhere affected:

– Bunches Brook from Broadway to Childswickham

– Grendon Brook catchment including Yardley Hastings, Denton, Bozeat, Easton Maudit and Grendon

– Kidbrooke Stream at Forest Row

– Low-lying areas close to Clipstone Brook at Leighton Buzzard

– Mill Brook from the Hagbourne Mill area to Winterbrook

– River Anker at Mancetter, Witherley and Atherstone

– River Flit, River Hit and River Ivel at Shefford and Clifton

– River Medway between Forest Row and Penshurst

– River Ouzel at Bletchley and Caldecotte

– River Ouzel at Leighton Buzzard, Stoke Hammond and Great Brickhill

– River Teise in Lamberhurst and Goudhurst

– Water Eaton Brook at Water Eaton

– Wider area at risk from Clipstone Brook at Leighton Buzzard

– Yeading Brook East at South Ruislip

The London Fire Brigade had to rescue a stranded car overnight near Croydon.

An image shared by the service shows the vehicle mostly underwater on Manor Road, in Wallington.

They warned drivers that just a foot of water moving 6mph could float a car.