Further torrential rain across Britain caused more travel chaos today as flooding left rail lines underwater, drivers stranded on submerged motorways and schools closed.

Trains going through Shropshire were blocked by flooding at Wellington station, which was left looking more like a Venice canal after heavy rain deluged the tracks. 

Flooding also blocked services to and from Aberystwyth in West Wales, as well as on the Chiltern Main Line in Oxfordshire between Banbury and Bicester North.

And London Northwestern Railway trains between Bletchley and Bedford were axed until at least next week following severe flooding to several parts of the route. 

In Gloucestershire, Avon Fire and Rescue Service worked with National Highways to rescue people stranded on the M5 after heavy rainfall flooded the motorway.

The road was shut northbound between J16 and J14 and southbound between J14 and J15 this morning as emergency services tried to clear the deluge.

Several schools in Bedfordshire and Birmingham were closed due to flooding today; the pitch at AFC Telford’s Seah Stadium in Shropshire was left underwater; and the Bristol South Swimming Pool was closed after heavy rain damaged the roof.

The Environment Agency had 63 flood warnings in place for England this morning, meaning flooding is expected, and 122 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible.

Parts of England continued to be lashed by heavy rain this morning with a yellow rain warning in place for southern England, the Midlands and Wales in place until 9am.

The Met Office warned of cancelled trains, power cuts, flooded homes, spray on roads, communities becoming cut off and ‘fast flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life’.

It comes after an amber warning for central areas of England expired at 6am.

Areas affected by the amber warning – including Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire and the West Midlands – were struck by flash floods as the Met Office warned the regions could see up to 40mm (1.6in) of rainfall within three hours.

But the wet weather is expected to finally ease into this afternoon.

Meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said northern and central parts of England and Wales had been hit hardest by the downpours.

He said: ‘There will continue to be localised flooding. A lot of these areas have been hit by rain in the past few weeks which means the ground is already saturated.

‘The amber warning is in place until 6am and the wider yellow warning will be lifted at 9am. We’re expecting it to then ease up and become a bit drier.

‘But rivers often take time to respond so we’re expecting disruption to continue in central and southern parts throughout the morning. 

‘Those planning to travel on Friday should factor this into their journey times.’

Councils and emergency services in Northamptonshire and Hertfordshire confirmed a number of road closures and told residents they were working to keep people safe.

Tewkesbury Borough Council in Gloucestershire has been handing out sandbags to residents to help protect their homes against flooding.

At least four schools closed in Bedfordshire today – Hockliffe Lower School in Leighton Buzzard; Marston Vale Middle School in Stewartby; Lincroft Academy in Oakley; and Sharnbrook Academy.

A message on the latter’s Facebook page said: ‘URGENT – SCHOOL CLOSURE TODAY – We have made the decision to close Sharnbrook Academy to all students today.

‘Three out of the four routes into the village are currently closed and there are extensive road closures in operation on local routes.

‘A significant number of staff and students are unable to safely get to school. Rain continues this morning and flood warnings remain in place.

‘We will be in touch later this morning with further updates. We are very sorry for the inconvenience and disruption this will cause.’

And Lincroft Academy said on X that the school was closed ‘due to extensive local flooding making travel routes into Oakley unsafe and impassable to staff and students with some on site flooding’, adding: ‘The area is on red alert for flooding with continued rain expected.’

Meanwhile Marston Vale Middle School tweeted: ‘An urgent announcement is now going out to all pupils, parents and carers and staff. Due to flooding, our school will be closed today.

‘Unfortunately the bus company has already cancelled the buses and Stewartby is fairly inaccessible, as are parts of our school.’

In the Birmingham area, at least four schools were closed – Bournville School and then another three in the nearby Northfield area: St Laurence Church Junior School; Victoria School; and Longwill School for Deaf Children.

It comes after flooding in Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire this week has brought widespread travel disruption and damage to properties.

Parts of the country saw twice the monthly average rainfall in 48 hours earlier this week, with flash flooding damaging homes on Monday and disrupting travel.

AFC Wimbledon were due to play Newcastle in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday but it was called off and rescheduled after the Cherry Red Records Stadium in South West London was hit by flooding and appeared to have a sinkhole in the pitch.

Firefighters and police also worked late into Tuesday night to evacuate residents after flooding at the Billing Aquadrome holiday park. There were further downpours on Wednesday evening.

The Environment Agency said about 385 properties were flooded in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Kent and the Home Counties.

Woburn in Bedforshire has had its wettest month on record with more than four times the average September rainfall – 227mm (8.9in) so far against an average of 55mm (2.2in).

But the rain is expected to clear during today, leaving conditions much colder on Saturday.