Thousands of people travelling this weekend to spend Christmas with their loved ones have seen their plans in chaos as heavy rain and severe flooding across many parts of the country have caused delays and disruption on the roads and railways.

Rail services to both Heathrow and Gatwick airport from London have been disrupted following two fires.

Other rail services have been stopped by flooding on lines between Crewe and Chester and Ellesmere Port and Hooton and CrossCountry train services have warned that services through Leeds, Sheffield and York face disruption by strike action by members of the RMT union.

As to those travelling on the roads, the AA warned that the M25, the M6 in the West Midlands, the M1 near Milton Keynes, the M5 near Bristol and the M62 near Warrington would be worst hit and drivers may face delays and congestion over the next few days.

And rpoblems are likely to persist throughout the weekend, with The Met Office expecting more rain overnight on Friday and the Environment Agency issuing more than 240 flood alerts and more than 65 flood warnings.

Written and presented by Alfred Joyner