Floods: Almost 250 warnings in place across England as cold weather forecast

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, An aerial view in the aftermath of Storm Henk, fields and roads are flooded after the River Trent burst its banks with a major incident declared in Nottinghamshire

An alert for very cold weather comes into force across England from Saturday morning and will remain in place for most of next week.

Temperatures will drop below freezing in many places over night until Friday and will be colder than average for this time of year.

Frost and ice is expected and it comes after a week of heavy rainfall and strong winds caused by Storm Henk which caused flooding in many parts of England at the start of the new year.

Image source, CARL RECINE

Image caption, Jack, aged 7, is rescued as the village of Severn Stoke is cut off because of flooding

Almost 250 flood warnings are still in place, mainly in central and southern England with two in Wales; along the River Wye at Monmouth and the River Ritec at Tenby.

More than 1,000 homes have already been flooded in England following several days of heavy rain, with the bad weather meaning several schools have had to close.

Schools unable to open for the start of term on Monday 8 January will be in touch with parents and details can also be found on council websites.

Image source, Dan Kitwood

Image caption, Billings Aquadome holiday park in Northampton was evacuated because of flooding

In Nottinghamshire, a major incident has been declared along the banks of the River Trent.

The river's levels were some of the highest seen in 24 years, according to the Environment Agency.

Houses in the village of Severn Stoke in Worcestershire had inches of water flooding in and photographs show children being evacuated from the village.

The London Fire Brigade worked through the night to deal with flooding in Hackney Wick. They helped 50 people to safety and worked to divert the flooding from the burst canal bank.

Image source, Christopher Furlong

The widespread flooding comes after Storm Henk which hit the UK on Tuesday. Its strong winds and heavy rains left some homes in England without power after fallen trees.

After a series of storms, the ground has been left very wet and more likely to flood.

Weather forecasters say showers will continue into Friday morning and are likely to hit parts of south-west and eastern England, Wales and areas in Scotland.