Latest update on severe weather from West Northamptonshire Council

Residents are urged to continue to take extra care today as flood warnings and road closures remain in place across West Northamptonshire following the extreme weather.

Although the intense rainfall has eased off overnight, water levels across the area remain very high, with flood warnings still in place at Dallington, Grendon Brook, Wootton Brook and Cogenhoe Mill.

People should plan ahead their journeys as well as continuing to keep an eye on flood alerts and warnings in place.

In the event of an emergency where someone is in danger, they should dial 999 or 112. Further information and guidance on flooding and to report it visit Report a flood | West Northamptonshire Council (westnorthants.gov.uk)

The stormy conditions have put extreme pressure on the road network, causing localised flooding and overwhelming ditches and brooks due to the rapid and intense rainfall not able to drain away fast enough across the system.

Highways response teams for Kier and West Northamptonshire Council have been out and about supporting emergency services, having attended 185 incidents since Saturday, 149 of which were flooding related with the remainder a mix of emergencies, such as fallen trees and dislodged/broken manhole covers.

Cllr Adam Brown, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council, said: "Although the rainfall has eased off overnight, the high levels of rivers, reservoirs and water outlets across the area remain extremely high and could still be breached, so we would urge everyone to continue to take extra care.

"We are working closely with the fire service, police, environment agency and other partners on responding to the ongoing weather events and continue to closely monitor the situation."

"It's clear that this extreme rainfall has caused significant challenges for our roads network, with the rapid, sheer volume of rain that has fallen in the past three days putting pressure on the drainage system.

"Although we work hard to ensure drains and gullies are well maintained – emptying around 20,000 gullies across West Northants in the past six months alone – the intensity of severe weather events like this will unfortunately lead to some roads flooding.

"Our response teams have been working round the clock to attend reports across the area, supporting the fire service and police to ensure residents are safe during these extreme weather conditions."