Heavy rain and thawing snow and ice brought floods to parts of Britain as forecasters yesterday warned that more wet weather was on its way.

The Environment Agency had around 80 flood warnings and more than 320 flood alerts in place, with river levels expected to swell further as successive bands of rain sweep the country.

Weather experts said communities in Wales, central England, the south west and Cumbria had seen most of the rain after 30mm fell in some places.

Rising temperatures of up to 12˚C sparked a rapid thaw of the snow and ice which has built up in the recent cold snap, further exasperating potential flooding problems. The Met Office issued a yellow rain warning for much of the UK, warning that people should be aware that flooding could cause disruption, in particular to travel.

Heavy downpours are predicted to return, bringing the risk of further flooding as the surface water and river levels build up ahead of an unsettled week.

Gusts of up to 60mph are expected to hit the west coast today before “severe” stormy weather is forecast for western areas and Scotland by Wednesday. Larger rivers, including the Trent and Severn, will continue to rise with elevated levels expected throughout the week, the EA said.

Meanwhile yesterday a heroic dock master dived into freezing cold waters to rescue a six-month old baby boy after his buggy was blown in by strong winds.

The infant, who was strapped in the buggy, was swept into the water as his mother walked along Watchet Harbour, Somerset, at 8am yesterday.

After hearing screams for help George Reeder, 63, initially thought a dog had fallen in but was horrified to see the pushchair upturned in the water. He dived in and pulled the pushchair to the wall, before a member of the public helped attach a rope and haul it to dry land – but not before the baby had spent around five minutes in the water.

The child was revived by a passerby who administered CPR, before being taken to hospital. His condition was believed to be no longer life-threatening.

Later yesterday another woman and her two-year-old son were rescued from the River Thames, emergency crews said.

The boy had fallen through open railings into the water when his 34-year-old mother jumped in after him, a spokesman for Chiswick Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) said.

Both mother and child were taken to hospital following the rescue operation in Isleworth, west London, at about 5pm.

They were described as “very cold” but did not appear to be seriously hurt, London Ambulance said.

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