Residents in up to 500 properties in north Wales have been advised to leave their homes after the River Elwy broke its banks – and forecasters say the threat of floods remains in many areas.

An emergency centre has been set up at a leisure centre in St Asaph.

In North Yorkshire, more than 50 houses in Pickering are currently under threat from rising water levels.

About 200 flood warnings are in force in England and Wales and there are two for the Scottish Borders region.

The wet conditions are set to ease after heavy rain in northern England and north Wales, but there are fears saturated ground could lead to further flooding and travel disruption.

The flooding risk in Denbighshire is also affecting the villages of Abergele, Llanfairtalhaiarn, Llangernyw and Llansannan.

Inspector Mark Davies, from North Wales Police, said: “The Environment Agency tell us water levels are rising and getting worse.

“We haven’t had any reports of people in severe difficulty but it has been distressing for people flooded in their own homes.”

And in Cornwall, the A39 at Perranarworthal is closed in both directions because of flooding and a poor road surface.

Flooding is also continuing to affect East Coast rail routes including between Durham and York, and between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Newcastle.

East Coast Trains says there is flooding on the line six miles south of Darlington, causing delays of up to 30 minutes.

The latest Environment Agency data shows 940 homes have suffered flooding since last Wednesday.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson denied talks between the government and insurers about how to provide affordable premiums in areas at high risk of flooding had “stalled”.

The Association of British Insurers had said discussions about extending the existing agreement obliging insurers to provide cover while the government continues to improve flood defences was at “crisis point”.

The Environment Agency, which has issued 206 flood warnings – up from 185 on Monday night – says the flood risk across the UK “remains elevated”.

There are also 278 less severe flood alerts – indicating people should prepare for possible flooding.

The agency warned that “large, slow responding rivers” – particularly the Thames, Trent and Severn – would continue to rise over the next few days.

It said the risk of groundwater flooding – when levels of water in the ground rise above surface levels – was high in some parts of the country, “notably Dorset”.

‘Further flooding is expected in the next 24 hours and communities across north-east England, north Wales and Northamptonshire are urged to remain especially vigilant,” Paul Mustow, head of its flood incident management, said.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Sepa, has two flood warnings in place – meaning flooding is expected and immediate action is required – from Camptown to Jedburgh, and from Greenlaw to Allanton.

There are also two flood alerts – meaning flooding is possible – in both the Borders and the Edinburgh and Lothians regions.

There are none in Northern Ireland.

Holly Green, of the BBC’s Weather Centre, said that while conditions were easing on Tuesday morning, there had been a few hours of persistent rainfall.

She said the rain on Tuesday would tend to become more showery in nature and it was an improving picture.

However, warnings remained in force for the first part of Tuesday morning as showers fell on already saturated surfaces.

Fairly heavy showers in some southern counties early on Tuesday brought a risk of some localised problems, she added.

On Monday, closures, delays and safety warnings affected dozens of A-roads, while cancellations and delays also hit some national rail services.

South-west England, where hundreds of homes were flooded at the weekend, was among a number of areas suffering considerable disruption to rail services on Monday.

On the roads, some of the worst-hit areas on Monday were in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.

|BBC

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