Call for flood cash rise in Budget

25 February 2014 Last updated at 19:02 ET

Spending on flood risk management should be substantially increased in next month's Budget, a leading engineering organisation has said.

The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) said the Environment Agency's annual maintenance budget for flood defences had fallen from more than £100m in 2010-11 to £60.7m in 2014-15.

David Cameron recently announced £130m in extra support for emergency repairs.

He has said "money is no object" to help those blighted by recent floods.

The ICE said the £130m cash injection was welcome but not sufficient to make up for previous cuts announced in Mr Osborne's 2010 Spending Review.

'Certainty required'

It said the Environment Agency's annual maintenance budget in England and Wales was set to fall by 39% over the four years to 2015 and is calling on the chancellor to use March's Budget to return it to its pre-2010 level.

And it said that ministers should commit to a longer-term investment programme for flood defences beyond the current five-year programme, to provide the certainty needed to improve flood resilience.

Its chief Executive Nick Baveystock said proposed spending "provided neither the level of investment nor long-term certainty required to improve resilience against flooding".

"The reductions to the maintenance settlement are also concerning, and - as the recent flooding and coastal surges have shown - the flood defences protecting our communities, businesses and the other vital infrastructure networks and services we depend on must be maintained regularly and comprehensively," he said.

"This under-spend has been detrimental to communities, business and infrastructure and government has an opportunity at the March Budget to address this."

Ministers say total spending on flood defence and maintenance between 2011 and 2015 will be higher than over the last four years of the previous Labour government, although some experts question the comparison.

Government figures show total spending on flood and coastal erosion risk management fell sharply between 2011 and 2013 but is set to rise from £606m last year to £715.1m in 2014-5.

Ministers say annual capital investment in new flood defences and major refurbishment of existing ones will rise to £370m in 2015-6 and spending will be protected, in real terms, every year until 2020-21.

Have you been affected by the recent floods? What are your views on flood risk management spending? Email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk adding 'Floods' in the subject heading and including your contact details.

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Co-op's £2bn losses

26 February 2014 Last updated at 02:27 ET

The Co-op Group's losses for 2013 are expected to be greater than £2bn, by far the worst in its history, when they are announced on 26 March.

I also understand that as the first stage in trying to revitalise the group as a whole, its chief executive, Euan Sutherland, will tell members of the Co-op's regional boards on Saturday that its substantial farming operation, which includes 15 farms, will be sold.

He will also reveal that Co-op is actively considering the sale of its 750 pharmacies, which generated revenues of £764m in 2012. "They are likely to be sold, but a formal decision hasn't yet been made," said a source.

Co-op Group's farms are mostly arable, producing cereal for bakers. They supply only a tiny proportion of the food in its stores.

As for the pharmacies, they have come under financial pressure, as the NHS tries to save money on prescriptions, and are not thought to be well integrated with other Co-op activities.

Rescue

According to well-placed sources, the huge £2bn plus losses to be revealed at Co-op Group stem mainly from its bank - which was rescued at the end of the year - together with a reduction in the value of the stores and goodwill it acquired with the Somerfield takeover of 2009 (what's known as a write-down).

For the first half of 2013, Co-op Group generated a pre-tax loss of £559m, following a loss in the previous year of £648m.

Since then, Co-op Group has been forced to recognise a collapse to nothing in the value of its investment in Co-op Bank, as part of a rescue which saw hedge funds and other investors emerging with majority ownership of the bank.

Job cuts

Over four years, Co-op Group is planning to cut running costs by £500m, of which it has already identified £100m of savings.

To achieve these cuts, I am told there will be thousands of job losses, probably between 4,000 and 5,000 by 2017, especially in head office and in support positions.

But Mr Sutherland and his board colleagues have yet to calculate precisely how many jobs will go, and he is not expected to give details for some weeks yet.

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Chief executive Euan Sutherland: "Over the last five or six years the business lost its way"

Co-op Group is by far the largest enterprise in the UK run on co-operative or mutual lines. It has millions of members, of whom tens of thousands are activists, who participate in elections for local boards.

Early leaks of the scale of the reconstruction of the group are fomenting tension between the activists and professional management led by Mr Sutherland.

"We worry that the board is exaggerating the scale of the crisis, including losses, to turn the Co-op into much more of a conventional business, and move it away from its democratic and ethical roots," said one.

Battle

Mr Sutherland won't unveil the full re-making of the Co-op until around the time of its annual meeting on 17 May.

He is carrying out a survey of how the public sees the Co-op, called "Have your Say", which has already seen more than 80,000 people express a view on how the Co-op should change.

Among the questions put to them, they are being asked whether the Co-op Group should continue paying a dividend to members, rather than simply cut prices, and whether it should continue to make financial contributions to the so-called Co-operative Party, which in turn supports the Labour Party.

Co-op activists are concerned that the survey can be filled in by anyone, not just Co-op members, and they fear that the wording of the questions is designed to illicit a negative response on continued political donations, thus ending all ties to the Labour Party.

"There is going to be quite a battle over this," said one.

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Surgeons wait for answers on deaths

26 February 2014 Last updated at 02:43 ET

Surgeons in Wales say they are still looking for answers over what is being done about heart patients dying while waiting for operations.

The Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) wrote to Health Inspectorate Wales (HIW) in July last year warning patient safety was being put at risk.

The RCS was told at the time the issues raised were being addressed but it has not had an update since so has written again.

HIW says it will respond in due course.

The University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff and Morriston Hospital in Swansea are the two centres in Wales where heart patients who need specialist treatment and cardiac surgery are referred.

But they are struggling to cope with the demands on their services.

Continue reading the main story

Chair of Cardiac Patients' Association (Wales) Robin Williams - who is a cardiac patient himself - said it was "horrendous" to be on a waiting list.

He told BBC Radio Wales: "Last year I waited four months to be referred to my cardiologist and then I waited another four, five months to actually see my cardiologist.

"By then, my argument is, my condition deteriorated to a condition where I can't be treated now.

"What they've said to me is that my heart is extremely weak and there is nothing that they would add to that because they don't want to hold out any false hopes for me.

"So, you know, I guess I'm just waiting to die."

In August 2013, correspondence between the RCS and HIW revealed that 152 patients had died in the past five years while waiting for heart surgery in Cardiff or Swansea.

Just a few weeks earlier, Cynon Valley MP Ann Clwyd called for an inquiry over deaths at UHW claiming it was the Welsh equivalent of the Stafford Hospital scandal.

And then in September, Powys GP Dr James Wrench, who leads the South Wales Cardiac Network, repeated the claim that patients were dying waiting for heart surgery. He said those who needed operations were supposed to be treated within 26 weeks.

Now the RCS is still looking for answers.

It said: "The RCS wrote to Healthcare Inspectorate Wales to ask for an update on whether our concerns regarding cardiac surgery waiting times in Wales have been addressed.

"We are currently waiting for the publication of two associated reports: The Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee's report on the mortality of patients waiting for elective surgery in south Wales, along with a separate report from the Cardiac Surgery Working Group of the Cardiac Services Review for Wales."

An HIW spokesperson said the watchdog had received the letter from the RCS and would be responding in due course.

"In the meantime we have met with the RCS, continue to monitor the situation and will be considering the reports once they are available," said a spokesperson.

Unnecessary deaths

Ms Clwyd told BBC Radio Wales there were hospitals in Wales that should be in "special measures".

"There is great cause for concern because, not only did they say patients were dying on waiting lists, it also said patients waiting for surgery were actually deteriorating," she said.

"I've been concerned for some time about mortality rates - six Welsh hospitals come up time after time with high mortality rates.

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"The mortality rates are a smoke signal that something is wrong at that particular hospital and should be looked at in greater detail."

A spokesperson for the Welsh government said: "The situation on cardiac waiting times is being actively managed by the NHS and Welsh government and steps are being taken to improve services for patients."

The concerns over heart patients follows a row in February over whether an inquiry is needed into death rates at Welsh hospitals in general.

England's medical director Sir Bruce Keogh said in an email to his Welsh counterpart Dr Chris Jones that data on death rates in six Welsh hospitals was worrying but not adequate to "form a view".

The statistics are part of a drive to make the NHS more transparent in the wake of the Stafford Hospital scandal.

Neglect and abuse at Stafford Hospital was said to have contributed to hundreds of unnecessary deaths between 2005 and 2008 and prompted a public inquiry.

But the Welsh government has already ruled out an inquiry, and that position has been backed by the Royal College of Nurses.

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Stafford Hospital trust decision due

26 February 2014 Last updated at 03:11 ET

Managers at scandal-hit Stafford Hospital are waiting to hear whether Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt will dissolve the trust that runs it.

Administrators want Mr Hunt to scrap the Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust and move services to other hospitals.

Local people are planning a legal challenge if that decision is taken.

The trust was criticised last year by a public inquiry for the "suffering of hundreds of people" under its care. It has been in administration since April.

The inquiry, led by Robert Francis QC, revealed some patients were left lying in their own faeces for days and given the wrong medication.

The report published after the inquiry made 290 recommendations aimed at tackling the wider cultural problems in the NHS.

Continue reading the main story

• A new midwife-led maternity unit at Stafford to deal with half the number of 1,800 births the hospital does now. Difficult births will be dealt with at University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust (UHNS)
• Paediatric unit would be run in conjunction with the hospital's 14-hour a day A&E unit. Sick children will be sent to the UHNS for night-time treatment
• The critical care unit would allow patients to be treated at Stafford but only if necessary staff were in place
• Hospital management could be transferred to UHNS by next autumn

In January, Monitor approved plans laid out by Trust Special Administrators (TSA) a month earlier to abolish Mid Staffordshire NHS Trust. It would be the first foundation trust to be broken up.

Under the proposals, control of Stafford Hospital would go to the neighbouring University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust (UHNS) while Cannock Hospital would be run by the Royal Wolverhampton Trust.

Services, including maternity, paediatric and critical care units at Stafford, would be downgraded.

The TSA has previously said it would take three years, from the secretary of state's agreement, to implement proposed changes - at a total cost of £220m.

The Support Stafford Hospital group said it was planning to take legal action if the decision was taken to axe the trust.

It comes after the High Court overturned the health secretary's decision to downgrade Lewisham Healthcare Trust's emergency department in July.

"We know that surrounding trusts are struggling be it financially and/or with capacity," the group said in a blog post on Monday.

"These problems have to be addressed. To send more patients to these trusts will only exacerbate problems for both our community and theirs."

The government has made clear there will be a full parliamentary debate over the hospital "in due course".

Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk adding 'Stafford' in the subject heading and including your contact details.

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Police union 'appalled' at IRA deal

26 February 2014 Last updated at 03:31 ET

The chairman of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland has said he is appalled at the government's "grubby secret deal" on IRA "on-the-run" cases.

He was speaking after the case of a man accused of the IRA Hyde Park bomb collapsed following what victims' families called "a monumental blunder".

Donegal man John Downey denied killing four soldiers in the 1982 bomb.

The case collapsed because government officials mistakenly told him he was no longer a wanted man.

Mr Downey's lawyer said his alleged offences had been categorised as one of the "on-the-run" cases that would no longer be pursued in the light of progress in the Northern Ireland peace process.

On Tuesday, a judge at the Old Bailey in London halted the case because Mr Downey had a letter from the Northern Ireland Office dated from 2007, assuring him that he would not face criminal charges despite the fact that police in Northern Ireland knew he was still wanted by Scotland Yard.

Although police soon realised they had made a mistake, the assurance was never withdrawn.

Continue reading the main story

Anyone already convicted of paramilitary crimes became eligible for early release under the terms of the Northern Ireland Good Friday agreement of 1998.

The agreement did not cover:

• Anyone suspected of, but not charged with, paramilitary offences committed before the Good Friday Agreement.
• Those who had been charged with offences but who had escaped.
• Those who had been convicted of offences and but who escaped.

Another 186 people received letters telling them they did not face arrest and prosecution for IRA crimes. The police, and Northern Ireland Office officials are checking the rest of the cases for further errors.

Victims' families said they felt "devastatingly let down" by what they called "a monumental blunder".

Unionist politicians in Northern Ireland are asking the government to re-consider the case.

NI Police Federation chairman Terry Spence said the news would shock the families of more than 200 RUC officers. He said they seemed "certain to be denied justice because of a scheme negotiated by the Blair government".

"None of us knew of the existence of this administrative scheme or what it entailed or the number of on-the-runs involved. There is a crying need for clarity as well as some honesty and decency," he said.

"The government owes it to police families to tell them, without any double-speak, that there is now no chance of them ever seeing justice being done in cases involving their relatives.

"There were 211 unsolved murders of RUC officers prior to the Good Friday Agreement and it looks from this grubby, secret deal that they are to remain unsolved."

Mr Spence said he felt angry, disappointed and betrayed.

"Why did it take a mistake exposed at the Old Bailey to shine a spotlight on this sorry mess?" he asked.

Conservative MP Laurence Robertson, chair of the Northern Ireland Select Committee at Westminster and, in 2006, a shadow Northern Ireland minister, said he would ask the Northern Ireland Secretary at that time, Peter Hain, who gave him the authority to bypass the true criminal justice system.

Mr Robertson said he felt Parliament had been treated "in a very discourteous way at that time".

"What I'd like to see is some statement made in the House of Commons preferably by the Attorney General," he said.

Northern Ireland's chief constable Matt Baggott said the Police Service of NI accepted the court's decision and full responsibility for the failures which resulted in this outcome.

The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland is to investigate the case.

The Hyde Park attack killed Squadron Quartermaster Corporal Roy Bright, Lieutenant Anthony Daly, Trooper Simon Tipper and Lance Corporal Jeffrey Young on 20 July 1982.

Mr Downey, 62, who was convicted of IRA membership in the 1970s, had denied murdering the soldiers and conspiring to cause an explosion.

He became Scotland Yard's prime suspect for the Hyde Park attack - but he was never extradited from the Republic of Ireland. He was described in court as a committed supporter of the Northern Ireland peace process.

In May 2013, he was arrested at Gatwick Airport while en route to Greece and charged with the murders and bomb attack. Mr Downey had travelled to the UK on four previous occasions since 2010.

But over the course of legal argument, he asked the Old Bailey to halt the prosecution - saying he had received a clear written assurance from the government that he would not be tried.

He cited an official letter he had received in 2007 saying: "There are no warrants in existence, nor are you wanted in Northern Ireland for arrest, questioning or charging by police. The Police Service of Northern Ireland are not aware of any interest in you by any other police force."

The Crown Prosecution Service had argued that the assurance was given in error - but the judge said it amounted to a "catastrophic failure" that misled the defendant. A trial would therefore be an abuse of executive power.

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Three held in baby murder inquiry

31 January 2014 Last updated at 16:45 ET

Three people have been arrested in Greater Manchester on suspicion of murdering a seven-week-old baby, police have confirmed.

The boy from Clarksfield, Oldham was admitted to Royal Oldham Hospital on Sunday with severe head injuries and a police investigation was launched.

He was transferred to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, where he died.

Two men aged 35 and 26 and a woman aged 23 are being questioned by police.

All three are being held on suspicion of murder and conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

'Great shock'

The woman and 35-year-old man were originally arrested on suspicion of section 18 assault.

A post-mortem examination revealed the boy died from serious head injuries.

Det Insp Andy Cunliffe said it was a "tragic case" in which a very young baby has lost his life.

"We are determined to find out exactly what the circumstances were that led to him suffering such injuries," he said.

"News of the death of such a little boy will no doubt come as a great shock to people and I would like to try and reassure the community as much as I can that we have a team of detectives dedicated to working on this investigation and they will be interviewing the three people in our custody."

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Ofsted chair Morgan to stand down

31 January 2014 Last updated at 17:34 ET

Baroness Sally Morgan is to leave her post as chair of schools inspectorate Ofsted, Education Secretary Michael Gove has confirmed.

Mr Gove said Baroness Morgan had made a "tremendous contribution".

He did not comment on allegations in the Independent he was dismissing her but said the Labour peer would continue in the job while a successor was found.

He earlier denied claims by the chief inspector of schools in England his department had briefed against Ofsted.

Baroness Morgan's three-year term of office was due to end in February and will not be renewed.

In a statement, Oftsed said Baroness Morgan's term of office "has been extended until the autumn of 2014 by the Secretary of State while the process is put in place to find a successor".

Baroness Morgan said: "Ofsted plays a crucial role in delivering independent inspection that is trusted by the public and particularly by parents.

"I am proud of helping lead Ofsted through a period of reform that has strengthened our inspections and made our reports clearer.

"Our tougher regime is driving improvements with more good schools and colleges than ever before. There is also a renewed focus on raising expectations in all parts of the country and for all children, including the most disadvantaged."

Mr Gove said: "She has brought great knowledge and insight, leading the board strongly through a period of significant change, both managing the smooth transition when there were changes in chief inspector, and leading the reforms to the inspectorate and its work."

'Unfair criticism'

Earlier this month, the Times reported two right-leaning think tanks Policy Exchange and Civitas were preparing to call for a radical overhaul of the Ofsted inspection regime, claiming it was trapped by 1960s "progressive" approaches to learning.

Subsequent claims the think tanks' work was being done with Department for Education encouragement prompted the chief inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, to declare he was "spitting blood".

He later said he was pleased by Mr Gove's assurance there had been no briefings against Osfted, but added he would defend his team against "unfair criticism".

Teachers' unions have previously accused Sir Michael of lacking independence from the education secretary.

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Labour plans to cut unions' power

31 January 2014 Last updated at 21:39 ET

Trade unions, MPs and MEPs are to have their influence over Labour leadership elections reduced under plans announced by Ed Miliband.

It is part of the Labour leader's proposed shake-up of the party's historic relationship with the trade unions.

Mr Miliband said future leadership contests would be decided by a one member, one vote election.

He described the changes as some of the biggest in the party's history.

The Labour leader embarked on reforming the union link after a selection row in Falkirk last year when allegations of vote-rigging surfaced involving the Unite union.

No wrong-doing has been found to have taken place.

'Cash shortage'

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, Mr Miliband said: "These are the biggest changes to who can become involved in the Labour Party since probably its formation.

"They go much further than people expected, but they are designed to open us up and complete unfinished business of the past 20 years.

"These reforms are about letting people back into our politics, and getting them back into politics."

Currently - under Labour's electoral college system - MPs and MEPs get a third of the votes to select a new leader, trade unions get a third and party members another third.

That system is to be abolished with every party member and those union members who donate to the party having an equal say.

Under Labour's plans, from 2014 members of those unions which are affiliated to the party would have to opt-in and pay a £3 fee to Labour before they get a vote.

MPs would retain the sole right to nominate leadership candidates.

The threshold those candidates would need is also to be raised - possibly to 20% of Labour's MPs.

'Massive change'

Continue reading the main story

A new method of electing Labour's leader - the electoral college, which gives unions, party members and MPs/MEPs a third of the votes each, abolished in favour of one member, one vote

MPs have sole nomination rights for leadership candidates and those candidates will need a higher level of support than at present - possibly 20% of MPs

All union members will have to 'double opt-in' if they want to take part in a leadership contest. They have to say that they are content to give money to Labour AND that they want to become 'an affiliated supporter'

Only full party members - not trade-union 'affiliated supporters' - will choose parliamentary and council candidates

Changes to London mayoral selection - Labour's candidate to be selected in the same way as the party leader

New leadership rules will be put in place this year - but changes to the party's funding will be phased in over five years

At present, trade union members pay a levy to the party - decided by the union - unless they opt out.

Describing the changes as "massive", Mr Miliband acknowledged they could mean donations to the party falling.

"I make no apology for making sure the party is financially secure, so these reforms are being phased over a five-year timescale."

In another mooted change, registered supporters - those who have registered their support but are not full party members - would be entitled to vote in leadership and mayoral elections "for a small fee".

There are currently around 20,000 such supporters and the party hopes to boost that number - partly as a counterweight to the votes of trade unionists, BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said.

Mr Miliband sought to reassure his parliamentary party, telling the Guardian: "They will continue to play an important role with their right to nominate, so it will be MPs that will decide who goes forward to the election in the country on the principle of one member one vote."

The BBC also understands that unions will retain 50% of the votes at the party's conference.

Veteran Labour MP Alan Johnson said he had been arguing for the changes since his time as Communication Workers Union general secretary.

"This is absolutely the right way to go," he told BBC News.

"We have a genuine one member, one vote system to elect our leader."

But the party's Glasgow South West MP Ian Davidson said: "There's been nobody in my constituency coming along and saying to me at this time of economic crisis, what we need is a reorganisation of the Labour Party."

Conservative Party Chairman Grant Shapps suggested union members could outnumber ordinary members by 10 to one under the proposed changes.

He said: "Until now, the union barons could buy Labour's policies, pick Labour's leader and fix Labour's candidate selections. After these changes, it will be even easier for the union barons to buy Labour's policies, even easier to pick the leader and even easier to fix the selections."

Are you a member of the Labour Party or a member of an affiliated trade union? Are you in favour of the reforms? Do they make it more or less likely you will vote in the next leadership election?

You can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject heading Labour Party reforms.

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Judge approves forced Caesarean

31 January 2014 Last updated at 23:29 ET

Doctors have been granted permission to perform an urgent Caesarean section on a mentally-ill woman with diabetes.

High Court judge Mr Justice Hayden gave specialists at the Royal Free London NHS Trust approval after a five-hour hearing at the Court of Protection.

He said the decision was "draconian" but necessary because the mother's life may be in danger.

The woman, 32, who is 32 weeks pregnant, was deemed unable to make the decision over how to give birth.

The ruling, late on Friday, came after doctors applied for permission to carry out the delivery in order that the patient's "unstable mental state" could be treated.

A specialist from the trust told the Court of Protection in London, which specialises in issues relating to the sick and vulnerable, that their priority was "keeping this woman alive".

The judge heard how she was thought to have paranoid schizophrenia, had stopped eating and tried to kill herself.

One doctor told the court that her mental and physical problems should improve and be easier to treat once the baby had been born.

Mr Justice Hayden ruled that neither the woman nor the hospital where she was treated should be named but the health authority should be named in order to "serve to reassure public confidence".

He added: "The decision to compel a Caesarean section on an incapacitous woman who is mentally and physically ill is an extremely draconian one.

"Doctors do not embark upon this lightly. It occurs extremely rarely. It is one that the lawyers also take very seriously indeed.

"I am perfectly satisfied that at the moment [this woman] is not able to make any reasoned evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of a Caesarean section."

He concluded that the woman lacked the mental capacity to regulate her diabetic medicine and monitor her own intake of food and water.

In granting permission for the operation the judge stipulated that the patient should not be restrained or have force used against her.

A specialist advised the court that the baby would not be at risk if delivered via Caesarean section at 32 weeks.

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High tides and wind bring flood risk

1 February 2014 Last updated at 03:27 ET

High tides and gale force winds could bring more flooding to parts of south-west England and the Midlands, the Environment Agency has warned.

It has nine severe flood warnings - meaning a danger to life - in place for the Cornwall and North Devon coasts and the River Severn, south of Gloucester.

Lesser warnings affect many parts of Britain including western Wales and the flood-hit Somerset Levels.

Cobra, the government's emergency committee, has met on the issue.

Discussions on Friday evening were chaired by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson who is urging residents to "listen to all the advice being issued".

"Environment Agency staff are working day and night, alongside the emergency services and other local specialist agencies, to get communities ready for the bad weather," he said.

A band of heavy rain swept across the south west, west Wales and southern England on Friday evening bringing up to 30mm (1.2in) to already-saturated ground.

Kate Marks, the Environment Agency's flood risk manager, said: "A low pressure system combining with high tides brings a risk of coastal flooding to many parts of England.

"The risk is highest for south-west England, although many coastal areas will be affected and the public should stay away from coastlines and tidal areas and not drive through flood water.

"At the same time the risk of river flooding continues for the southern counties as with the ground already saturated, rivers are very responsive to rainfall. Groundwater levels also remain high in southern counties."

The Environment Agency said gales and waves could combine to cause possible overtopping of flood defences and sea walls, property flooding and travel disruption over the weekend.

BBC weather presenter Tomasz Schafernaker said gales were heading towards Britain, with the risk of further flooding.

He said: "The gales will be picking up across western areas through the course of the morning, probably peaking later on in the day across northern parts of the country."

He said winds would gust at up to 70mph (112km/h) in west Wales and south-west England.

There are also more than 150 flood warnings and 275 flood alerts in place across Britain with parts of south-east and north-west England and the Yorkshire and Hull coast all said to be at risk.

In Gloucestershire, the authorities are preparing for the Severn bore tidal surge.

Communities along the Welsh coast, already hit by a storm in early January, are braced for possible further flooding.

Leisure centres in Cardigan and Aberystwyth are open as emergency evacuation support centres if required. The youth centre in Upper Borth is also open.

In Europe, areas of Italy and France are on flood alert as heavy rain brings chaos. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from homes in Pisa, Italy, while widespread flooding is expected on the French Atlantic coast.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister David Cameron has expressed "enormous sympathy" for the people who have been living on the Somerset Levels where 25 sq miles (65 sq km) have been flooded for several weeks.

Writing in the Western Daily Press, Mr Cameron said: "I know that a great deal of work has been done to try and alleviate the situation but it is not acceptable for people to have to live like this almost four weeks later - and I am not ruling out any option to get this problem sorted out.

"The government is doing everything we can to help people recover as quickly as possible where they have suffered damage to their homes and businesses."

Continue reading the main story

Dredging, flood barriers, natural flood management and sustainable drainage are recognised methods of preventing or alleviating flooding. BBC News looks at how these methods work and the scientific principles behind them.

The government and the Environment Agency have been criticised by MPs and local councils in Somerset, where the agency said it was now running pumps 24 hours a day to drain the water.

Personnel from all three branches of the armed forces are currently on stand-by to help villages cut off by the floods.

But the Environment Agency has said dredging of rivers in Somerset would not begin until flood water had drained and river banks were safe.

The Met Office has issued its own warnings of heavy rain and high winds of up to 60mph for many southern and western areas.

"Winds will increase on Saturday, with gusts widely to 50 to 60 mph, and locally to around 70 mph in exposed parts of the west," it said.

"Additionally, large waves could lead to overtopping along some coastlines."

The latest warnings come at the end of a month which has already become the wettest January on record for parts of southern England.

Up to and including 28 January, the south east and central southern England had a record 175.2mm (6.9in) of rainfall in January - beating the previous record of 158.2mm for the same parts of England set in 1988.

Are you in the South West or coastal areas? Have you been affected by flooding? You can share your experiences with us by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject heading High Tide.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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