Parts of England are facing new flood misery this weekend, as high tides and strong winds are set to put coastal areas at risk.

Gales and big waves could swamp coastal flood defences and sea walls, flood properties and cause travel disruption, the Environment Agency has warned.

Another band of heavy rain could also cause more flooding as it falls on already saturated ground, and the Environment Agency currently has 35 flood warnings in place across the country.

The latest poor weather conditions come at the end of a month that has already become the wettest January on record for some parts of southern England.

In the Somerset Levels, the situation is so bad the army has been deployed to bring relief to villages cut off by the most significant floods for 20 years.

Some 40 properties have flooded on the Levels, the Environment Agency said.

Gales, big waves can swamp coastal flood defences, sea walls

And the west of England is facing further of risk of flooding, as wind and rain sweeps in and combine with high tides this weekend.

Coastal and tidal areas of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire are all at an increased risk of flooding, the Environment Agency said.

The rest of Gloucestershire, parts of southeast England, the northwest and Yorkshire and Hull coast will also be affected by the wind, rain and high tides in the next few days.

The risk of river flooding continues with the ground already saturated, and flood barriers have been put up at Frankwell in Shrewsbury to protect against a rise in river levels on the Severn after five centimetres of rain fell in Shropshire on Tuesday.

Temporary defences are also set to be erected at Bewdley on the Severn.

The Met Office late yesterday warned of a band of heavy rain sweeping the country today, with 20mm to 30mm set to fall across many parts and as much as 40mm on high ground.

Over the weekend, winds of up to 50mph to 60mph are set to hit the country, which combined with spring tides could see western coastal areas battered by large waves.

It comes at the end of an unusually wet January for the UK. A spokesman for the Met Office said: “For the UK as a whole, 164.6mm of rain has fallen so far this month, 35 per cent above the long-term average, with all nations having above average rainfall.”

Southeast and central southern England received more than twice its average rainfall, with a record 175.2mm falling between January 1 and 28.

The rainfall across southwest England and South Wales reached 222.6mm in the same period, making January 2014 the fifth wettest in the records dating back to 1910.

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