The Met Office has warned of life-threatening flooding and has issued an amber weather warning for rain in the northwest of England. The warning is in place until 11:59pm on Thursday.

The Met Office warned that Cumbria will continue being hit with “persistent and heavy rain” until at least Thursday evening.

Up to 300mm is expected to fall in parts of the region, which typically sees an average of 160mm in October.

“In a 24-hour period you could see a month’s worth of rain,” Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said.

“The rainfall total is much higher than the average rainfall for this time of year, definitely, and in general, for any time of year it’s a lot of rainfall in a short period of time,” she told the PA news agency.

According to The Met Office, an amber warning of rain could bring:

  • Homes and businesses flooded and damage to some buildings
  • Danger to life from fast flowing or deep floodwater
  • Delays or cancellations to train and bus services
  • Spray and flooding leading to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
  • Some communities cut off by flooded roads
  • Power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses

Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service have urged residents to “be alert to the dangers of flood water”, warning never to enter flood water on foot or in a vehicle and to call 999 if life is it risk.

Ben Lukey, flood duty manager at the government department, said: “A slow-moving band of heavy and persistent rain could bring surface water and river flooding and disruption to travel, to communities in Cumbria and parts of the north of England from today (Wednesday) through to Friday and Saturday.

“Working with our partners in local resilience forums, Environment Agency teams have been out on the ground clearing waste grilles and screens and stand ready to operate flood defences if needed.

“They are also ready to support local authorities in their response to surface water flooding.

“We are urging residents and visitors, especially holidaymakers in the Lake District, to stay alert and check their flood risk by signing up for free flood warnings on the Gov.uk website and via @EnvAgency on Twitter, which offer the latest updates.”

For the latest developments on flooding, visit the live blog here.