UK flood alerts abound as heavy rain continues

Britain's miserable summer continued on Saturday with flood warnings and alerts issued across England. Thundery showers hit many parts of the country, with the south-east the worst hit. The Environment Agency issued 15 flood warnings and 65 flood alerts on Saturday, coming amid claims that nearly 300 flood defence schemes have been left unbuilt because of government cuts. The government insisted its "absolute priority" was protecting homes and businesses from floods and the Environment Agency said 364 new flood-risk management schemes had been completed in the past three years. "There will always be more schemes than funds available and no one can prevent flooding entirely," said the agency's chief executive, Paul Leinster. The Met Office kept a yellow warning in place on Saturday, alerting the public to heavy rain and floods in parts of the south-east and the Midlands. An agency spokesman said: "We are urging people across central and eastern England to remain vigilant as heavy thunderstorms are forecast to affect large swaths of the country. Locally intense showers falling on already saturated ground could lead to surface water flooding and possible river flooding from fast responding rivers, particularly across parts of the Midlands and East Anglia." The wettest April-June quarter on record, and further heavy rain in July, has resulted in repeated flooding in many parts of Britain.