Britain hit by floods, storms

Huge waves crash yesterday against the promenade wall in Porthcawl, south Wales. Britain is bracing itself for the worst weather conditions as a combination of high tides, heavy rains and strong winds are expected to bring yet more severe flooding to parts of the country.

DPA/AFP/London

The Environment Agency had seven severe flood warnings – the highest category, meaning danger to life – in place in southwest England, the Midlands and Wales, with lesser warnings issued across the country.

However, flooding in the southern counties of Cornwall and Devon, which were set to be the worst affected, was “slightly better than expected”, according to Tom Mansell of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

The real danger was people coming down to watch the waves, he added: “They don’t understand how dangerous the sea can be. We would say please, please keep away from this water.”

Police were called to move on dozens of sightseers who gathered at Burry Port in south Wales to see the sea whipped up by 70mph (112kph) winds.

“What they cannot know is what is in these waves. The sea takes up a lot of rock, rubble and stones and throws them violently about,” Carmarthenshire County Council spokesman Ron Cant said. “Stones weighing up to one hundredweight (50kg) were being flung into the car park and people were literally putting their lives at risk by being there.”

Air, sea and land searches were launched for 18-year-old Harry Martin who has not been seen since leaving his home to take pictures of the weather near Plymouth in Devon on Thursday.

He was last seen heading towards a coastal path.

Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, also avoided serious flooding when a tidal surge came and went without breaching sea defences, though other parts of the region were flooded.

Walls of sandbanks were built in the densely-packed residential area of Sydenham in the east of the city and on land around the docks on the opposite side of the shore.

In the southwest English counties, coastal towns in Cornwall and Devon experienced some flooding but officials said it was not as bad as they had feared.

Roads and rail links across the country were also disrupted due to the storms, including the London to Gatwick Airport train service.

The whole of Britain faced “exceptional weather”, said Environment Secretary Owen Paterson, who chaired a meeting of the government’s emergency “Cobra” committee to discuss the flood response.

Storms in recent weeks have at times left hundreds of thousands of households in Britain without electricity and caused many homes to flood.

At least two people have died after being swept out to sea.