An entire town has been almost completely cut off by flood water

Shocking aerial photographs show how an entire town has been almost completely cut off by flood water as a result of heavy downpours which battered Britain.

Parts of Tewkesbury, Glos, were left entirely submerged by 5ft (1.5m) of water after the River Severn burst its banks following torrential rain over the weekend.

Ancient Tewkesbury Abbey can be seen nearly marooned in dramatic drone images taken today (Mon) in scenes strikingly reminiscent of the devastating floods of 2007.

Other parts of the historic town were also left under several feet of water following the deluge of bad weather, which saw a month's worth of rain falling in just two days.

There were similar scenes less than 20 miles away in Worcester where flooded fields stretched across the countryside as far as the eye can see.

Photos show how one building site next to a dual carriageway was left completely under water and some residents' houses were cut off from main roads.

There are currently more than 200 warnings and alerts in place across Britain after
widespread deluges left rivers across the country close to bursting point.

Dave Throup, Environment Agency manager for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, said: "Its very unusual for the River Severn to be at such high levels for its entire length, in England.

"We've got flood warnings in place from the Welsh border to Gloucester.

"Most of our flood defences now deployed or being deployed, protecting hundreds of homes and businesses."

He also took to Twitter to say the River Severn was at its highest level since February 2014.

The Environment Agency also warned Tewkesbury residents to avoid avoid low-lying footpaths near water courses and avoid low-lying roads near rivers.

A spokesperson added: "River levels have risen and continue to rise at the Mythe Bridge river gauge as a result of heavy rainfall.

"Consequently, flooding of roads and farmland is expected to continue today. Our incident response staff are liaising with emergency services.

"Please avoid using low lying footpaths near watercourses and plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded."

Emergency services rescued people from 36 vehicles stranded in flood water in Worcestershire and Herefordshire over the weekend.

Michael Cadman, of Hereford and Worcester Fire Service, said over the weekend "HWFRS rescued 70 people from flooding-related incidents, including 64 adults, three children, three teenagers, also three dogs, three cats and two hamsters.

"38 incidents with rescues were attended, of which 36 involved cars in flood water."

Elsewhere in the Midlands, flood defences were put in place in Bewdley, Worcs., Upton-upon-Severn, Worcs., and Shrewsbury, Shrops.

The River Wye in Hereford was at record levels at 6.21m (20ft) - the highest ever on the Environmental Agency gauge installed in 1970.