UK Weather: Severe weather warning after 13,000 lightning strikes

Places where flooding is expected include areas of Leighton Buzzard and Luton in Bedfordshire, Atherstone in Warwickshire and parts of London.

It will stay wet for much of Monday with a significant band of rain stretching from south-west England, through the Midlands and into eastern England.

Conditions on the roads could be difficult and rural communities have been warned they could be temporarily cut off by flooding.

Some affected areas could see 100 to 120mm (4-5 inches) of rain.

The area covered by the amber warning stretches from Herefordshire and Gloucestershire up towards East Anglia and the Humber, encompassing Birmingham, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Met Office meteorologist Jonthan Vautrey said a month’s worth of rain could fall in the area on Monday.

“With the rain we’ve already seen over the last couple of days this certainly has the potential to bring some disruption and flooding,” he added.