26 Nov 2012

Britain battered by heavy rain

11:23 am on 26 November 2012

Hundreds of homes in Britain have been flooded after storms battered parts of England and Wales.

The Environment Agency says Devon and Cornwall have been badly hit, along with Malmesbury in Wiltshire and Kempsey in Worcestershire, the BBC reports.

A woman was killed during the storm when she was struck by a falling tree in Exeter, while police said the death of a man whose car crashed into a swollen river in Cambridgeshire was not weather-related.

In Malmesbury, four people were rescued from their homes after what the mayor called the worst flooding there in 70 years.

In Plymouth, Devon, about 60 people were evacuated due to safety concerns in a dozen locations and there were numerous reports of people being stuck in their cars.

Many roads have been closed due to flooding, particularly across the south west region, and rail travel was disrupted.