- Section of busy motorway close to Leatherhead collpases after heavy rain caused damage to road surface
- Weather experts say more torrential rain is on the way over the weekend, potentially causing floods
- Some drivers had their tyres shredded on uneven road surface and were forced to pull over
- AA chief says M25 is 'road to hell' today and called for probe into damage after three hour tailbacks
- Roadworks were undertaken on the stretch of road overnight and Highways Agency has contacted contractor
It
is believed roadworks to replace three concrete sections of
surface commissioned by the Highways Agency overnight lead to the chaos
after one of them 'failed'. The other two are now being monitored.
Surrey Police said many drivers suffered damaged tyres after the road near Leatherhead fell in.
Traffic
inched forward on the motorway between junction 9 and 12, causing a
snake of traffic. Highways workers are clearing debris from the
anti-clockwise carriageway and three lanes are closed off. Drivers were
caught up in the jam for more than three hours.
The scene at the M25 where huge
delays were caused when a pothole opened up in bad weather. Specialist
repair crews were on the scene just hours after the first incident was
reported
The scene at the M25 anti clockwise side at Junction 9. The incident has resulted in delays of over an hour
Shredded: A number of motorists were forced to pull over because of tyre damage
AA president Edmund King was scathing about the situation on the motorway.
He
said: 'The M25 really is the Road to Hell today. The M25 is critical to
the nation and today's incident highlights just how dependant we are on
it to function 24/7.
'There must be a thorough investigation into this incident. It is disappointing that not only did the road fail but it placed many drivers in danger and also reportedly damaged a number of vehicles.
'There must be a thorough investigation into this incident. It is disappointing that not only did the road fail but it placed many drivers in danger and also reportedly damaged a number of vehicles.
'If
this happened on the railways passengers could claim compensation. As
it has happened on the roads drivers just have to put up with it.'
A
spokesperson for the Highways Agency revealed that work carried out on
the M25 near Leatherhead overnight was to replace three concrete
sections of road surface.
He said: 'We can confirm that three concrete sections of surface were replaced overnight.
'One of those sections has failed for some reason and collapsed.
'We are investigating the circumstances and are closely monitoring the other two concrete slabs.'
'So far, the slip-road at Junction 9 and one lane of traffic has been re-opened, but traffic is moving very slowly.'
It is believed roadworks to replace
three concrete sections of surface commissioned by the Highways Agency
overnight lead to the chaos after one of them 'failed'
A band of rain will move north east
across the UK, leaving drier and calmer conditions in its wake in parts
of Wales and central and southern England
Needs must: A driver dons overalls to get some meagre protection from the rain
Chaos: A car is towed away on the hard shoulder of the strife-hit M25 today
He added: 'We will open up the other lanes as soon as we are able to.
'We cannot put a time scale on this at this stage, because we do not yet know how deep we have to dig to repair the road.'
Among
the thousands caught up in the travel chaos are those heading to
Gatwick Airport in West Sussex. In normal conditions, those driving to
Gatwick would use the M25 and turn south for Gatwick on to the M23.
Workmen fixing the hole on the M25 close to Junction 9. A concrete section installed last night collapsed, sparking travel woes
On
Twitter people posted pictures of an uneven road surface, accompanying
the pictures with words such as 'collapse' and 'subsidence'.
Heavy
rain made driving conditions hazardous today. There were tailbacks on
the M3 in Hampshire while accidents caused hold-ups on the M6 just north
of Birmingham and on the M50 between Tewkesbury and Ross-on-Wye.
Fears of flooding have hit parts of Britain after a number of weather warnings for wind and rain.
Meanwhile,
the Environment Agency and AA have urged drivers to be 'flood-aware' as
a survey showed that, despite the wettest winter on record, more than
two-thirds of men and half of women would still risk driving through
flood water.
Northern
Ireland and Scotland can expect windy conditions for much of the day,
with northern and eastern parts of Northern Ireland facing gusts of up
to 70mph. Yesterday winds speeds of almost 100mph were recorded on the
south coast of England.
Chaos: Among the thousands caught up in the travel chaos are those heading to Gatwick Airport in West Sussex
Surrey Police were on the scene to manage the flow of traffic after three lanes were closed off
Heavy rain this morning caused a section of the M25 to collapse, causing huge tailbacks on the UK's busiest motorway
A
band of rain will move north east across the UK, leaving drier and
calmer conditions in its wake in parts of Wales and central and southern
England.
The
Met Office predicted that 10-20 mm of rain could fall within 2-3 hours
from this cold front sweeping across the region. The strongest of the
winds should remain to the west of the warning area, although very
localised squalls may accompany the cold front across south-west England
and Wales.
The
Scottish Environment Protection Agency said it is expecting further
heavy rain in Tayside, Angus and Aberdeenshire through today and into
the weekend.
Surrey Police is at the scene and the Highways Agency has sent officials to assess and repair the road
Surrey Police said many drivers suffered damaged tyres after the road near Leatherhead fell in early this morning
The
Environment Agency (EA) said that localised river flooding is possible
for parts of south-west Wales, east Devon and the south-east of England.
It could see spray and waves topping coastal defences and promenades.
The EA has 20 flood alerts in place across the South East, the West, the Midlands and Pembrokeshire in Wales.
Residents
on the Somerset Levels, who have seen increased river levels and a week
of rain, are expecting the downpour to continue to the weekend.
Fortunately a repeat of February's flooding which devastated homes,
businesses, agriculture and wildlife, is currently unlikely.
A
project to widen the riverbanks of the River Tone and the River Parrett
finished on October 31, and a five-mile section of both rivers has also
been dredged.
Rebecca
Horsington of the flood campaign group Flag welcomed this but said that
a long-term commitment needs to be made to continue dredging the
rivers.
The EA has 20 flood alerts in place across the South East, the West, the Midlands and Pembrokeshire in Wales
She
said: 'It's very frustrating because we know it needs to be done, the
river levels are high but it's not doing much unusual for this time of
year.
'Whereas normally people wouldn't take much notice, now trust has been completely wrecked after last year.
'We have had these dredges but there's no long-term commitment.
'There
are people whose mental health has been wrecked by this. They don't
trust the authorities, they don't trust where they live any more.'
Jo
Elton, 49, and her friend Sandra Thexton, 68, who live in West Yeo, a
hamlet near one of the worst-affected villages, Moorland, were among
more than 150 Somerset households who were told to leave their homes.
They
were out of their home for two months and despite narrowly escaping
being flooded, they are still cleaning up. They were stranded in their
house for a week while they waited to be rescued.
Rain on the fallen: Volunteers battle
poor weather conditions to continue to remove the ceramic poppy
installation in the moat of the Tower of London today
It's over: An army of volunteers has
begun removing the field of ceramic Remembrance poppies from the Tower
of London's moat after the once-in-a-lifetime installation that captured
the nation's imagination
Wet weather
work: The team of volunteers working in the pouring rain to pluck out
the poppies, wearing waterproof jackets to keep dry. Right, Pedestrians
and commuters struggle on a rainy day in London
Paper hat: Students getting a soaking in Cambridge as heavy rain hit the country
A family in rain macs pose for a picture and a cyclist makes her way through the rain in Cambridge
Soaking: The Environment Agency and AA
have urged drivers to be 'flood-aware' as a survey showed that, despite
the wettest winter on record, more than two-thirds of men and half of
women would still risk driving through flood water.
Ms
Elton said: 'Even though we are very aware of the levels of water that
are required to put us at threat, you are on alert the whole time and I
think that's unlikely to go away.
'It was very scary, particularly when we saw water knocking walls down.
'We went out and there were five bar gates and hedges covered in water.
'The stress to the animals and to us was incredibly high.'
Laura
Young, of the Met Office, said: 'It's mainly because you have already
had quite a lot of rainfall in that area. You are looking at 10mm to
20mm. On south-facing hills this could get up to 40mm.
'That's
not a lot of water for that time of year but it's coming after a lot of
rain and you could see a lot of rivers being quite full and responding
quite quickly.'
Stoic: This impressively-moustached cyclist wasn't going to let a bit of rain put him off his morning ride
Grim journey: Commuters shelter under umbrellas near London Bridge as they brave the rain in the capital
A band of rain will move north east
across the UK, leaving drier and calmer conditions in its wake in parts
of Wales and central and southern England
However, the Met Office also said that in the longer term drier weather should allow water a chance to drain.
'The problem last year was that there were no dry days in Somerset.
'There wasn't any chance for the water to drain away.
'We are looking at some good dry days over the weekend and into the beginning of next week.'
An
EA spokesman said: 'There may be further isolated showers over the next
few days but river levels are dropping and the risk of flooding is very
low. We'll continue to monitor river levels closely and keep local
communities informed.
'In
Somerset some agricultural floodplain is currently storing water as a
result of planned management of river levels. This is completely normal
for this time of year.
'We
are not expecting any properties to flood. It would take very heavy
rainfall over a long period of time to put homes at risk.'
Torrential: Flooding on A3090 in Winchester, Hampshire. More floods are forecast as rain continues over the weekend
Drivers have been forced to battle against the elements in Birmingham,West Midlands on the morning commute
Deluge: A road is flooded close to Cannon Hill Park in central Birmingham
Meanwhile, a search has been called off following reports a man was hit by a wave off the Devon coast.
Coastguard
officials said it was contacted just after 9.30pm last night with a
member of the public reporting seeing an elderly man by the sea wall
along Meadfoot Sea Road in Torquay.
The witness described seeing large waves crashing over the wall, and spotting the man briefly before he disappeared from view.
The
Torbay Coastguard rescue team, two lifeboats from Torbay along with the
RAF search and rescue helicopter from Chivenor conducted extensive
searches of the area but nothing was found.
A Coastguard spokesman said: 'Weather conditions on scene are described as poor, with 1.5 metre swell and a strong onshore wind.
'Unless any new information comes to light, the search has been stood down.'
Sandbags lining the bank of the River
Parrett in Burrowbridge, Somerset. With several days of rain predicted
the area, which suffered heavy flooding 11 months ago, is bracing itself
for further water woes
Workmen altering the bank of the River
Parrett. Police warned drivers to beware of aqua-planing as roads were
turned into lakes during the morning rush hour
FLOOD-PRONE WEST COUNTRY 'NEEDS MORE HELP FROM GOVERNMENT'
An
SOS went out to the Government today as the West Country found itself
in the front line of yet more storms and torrential rain.
Police warned drivers to beware of aqua-planing as roads were turned into lakes during the morning rush hour.
As the heavens opened yet again, communities begged the government to put more into flood defences.
A
report today said Cornwall was battered twelve times in just three
months during last winter's storms, and if experts are right, the
frequency of 'freak' weather will increase in the coming years.
Cars travel through flood water in Helston in Cornwall as rain and wet weather swept the region in 2013
Clearing up the damage cost £21m but the local economy was hit even harder, with tourists put off holidaying in the area.
Now Cornwall Council wants more money, more help to stop power cuts and to make it easier to call out the military.
The
report says 'Huge damage was caused to coastal infrastructure on
numerous occasions and it is estimated that £4.4m of interim and £17m of
permanent capital repairs were required as a result.
'An estimated £8.2m was lost from visitors not coming to Cornwall in January/February 2014 alone.
'First
Great Western train company reported a loss of two thirds of passengers
into Cornwall and Devon while the Dawlish line was closed, despite
alternative transport being provided.'
At
the height of the storms last winter, Coversack was 'cut in half',
people in Kingsand were evacuated as waves battered down front doors and
residents in Bude, Porthtowan and Penzance were also told to leave
their homes.
The report warns that climate change will mean the frequency and severity of storms hitting Cornwall will increase.
Edwina
Hannaford, who's in charge of the environment at the council, said 'We
have to remember that Cornwall, as a peninsula, for storms that come
across the Atlantic - we're first on.
'I did have it described to me that we are the flood defence for London. And I think that point was well taken.
'The communities of Cornwall are enormously resilient - they do help themselves.
'But sometimes when it's so enormous - like the storms were last winter - we do need a bit of a helping hand.
'That's
why we're using this report to lobby the government and we're doing
that with other local authorities in the south-west.'
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