Severe Weather: Families Forced From Homes

Around 90 people are being evacuated from their homes following a severe flood warning, Dorset Police have said.

The evacuation is taking place on the River Stour near Bournemouth following the warning from the Environment Agency.

It comes as tens of thousands of people across the UK are facing a miserable Christmas Day, with flooded homes, no power - and a big struggle to get home because of travel disruption.

Dozens of homes have been left under water and many families will spend the day without electricity after torrential rain lashed the country.

Travel chaos at Gatwick Airport - pic: @walshymk

Officers have been monitoring the levels of the River Stour closely for 24 hours and people living in the threatened areas were warned of the possibility of flooding and evacuation.

Police described the rescue effort as a "multi-agency operation" and advised people who have concerns about flooding to contact the Environment Agency.

Emergency services are also making ready to evacuate people from the Beaulieu Garden Park Home in Christchurch, Dorset, after another severe flood warning - warning of danger to life - at 5.40am, the third such alert in place.

The coastguard rescued 76 people from a caravan park flooded by the River Medway at Yalding in Kent on Tuesday night.

Rescuers helped residents at the Little Venice Caravan and Marina Park leave by boat and four-wheel-drive vehicle.

By 8pm the water was chest deep, and a helicopter was brought in as a precaution while the last 21 people were led to safety.

Travellers trying to get home on Christmas Eve also battled treacherous conditions on the roads and suffered major delays as the rail network was brought to its knees.

Five people have died in the last three days because of the stormy weather.

There was chaos at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex after a power cut at the North Terminal led to cancellations and delays, leaving thousands of passengers stranded. The airport said normal service would resume today.

The Environment Agency's map shows flood warnings across England and Wales

Police officers stepped in to calm passengers as they demanded information about their flights.

Hundreds of pieces of luggage were strewn across the airport as no bags were able to be checked in.

Airline easyJet said it would be operating a limited number of Christmas Day flights from the airport to replace 83 cancelled on Tuesday because of the power cut.

These include flights to Faro, Basle, Malaga, Alicante and Amman, while passengers from a cancelled flight from Gibraltar to Gatwick will be travelling on one from Malaga.

EasyJet said it would be unable to schedule any further flights today because of limited capacity at airports and crew availability.

Passengers' luggage at Gatwick Airport

A spokesman said: "Due to the high amount of cancellations that were unavoidable on the 24th, we are currently working on a plan to repatriate all passengers back to their destinations as soon as possible.

"But please be advised this may take a couple of days whilst the programme resumes to normal operation from Thursday."

Although Wednesday has seen calmer weather, more storms are expected on Friday.

Around 50,000 homes across the UK are still without power after Monday's downpours and strong winds, the Energy Networks Association said.

Tonbridge in Kent has been hit by severe flooding - pic: Toby MacKenzie

Train services were subject to delays and cancellations with more than 200 trees falling on lines in the last 24 hours.

The Environment Agency said 150 properties had been flooded in England, mainly in Surrey and Kent, with numbers expected to rise.

Firefighters in both counties broke a five-hour nationwide strike last night to help deal with the effects of the storms.

In Surrey, residents were evacuated from their homes in Dorking, Leatherhead and Guildford, while more evacuations occurred in Tonbridge, Kent.

A police officer calms crowds at Gatwick - pic: Joe Pattinson

Some 40 properties were evacuated in Godalming because of concerns over the height of the River Wey, Surrey Police said.

In the Mole Valley, evacuations took place in Leatherhead and Dorking after the River Mole burst its banks in several areas.

Police said the Flanchford Bridge over the River Mole near Reigate had collapsed, but no one was injured.

In Dorset, fire crews had to rescue 25 people trapped in their cars by flood water.

At a Wetherspoon's pub in Tonbridge, 100 people booked in for Christmas dinner had to make alternative arrangements after it was flooded.

Fire crews rescued motorists - pic: Dorset Fire and Rescue Service

More than 300 flood alerts and warnings remain in place.

The number of warnings - the category the Environment Agency uses to alert residents that "immediate action is required" - has jumped to 105 across the UK.

There are also 211 flood alerts, which indicate "flooding is possible, be prepared".

The most severely affected areas remain the south west and south east where there are three "severe flood warnings".

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