Heavy rain brought flash flooding to communities still suffering from last summer’s disaster, disrupting road and rail travel around the county today.

More than 1.2in (30mm) of rain was recorded overnight in Wales and the West Midlands, with gale force winds causing the cargo ship Ice Prince to sink off the Dorset coast.

Riverside residents in Gloucester stayed away from work today to move all their belongings upstairs, as flood warnings were imposed along the River Severn between Worcester and Tewkesbury and from Tewkesbury to upstream of Gloucester, and flood barriers erected at weak points.

Police in Worcestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire warned motorists that localised flooding was likely.

The Environment Agency warned that the risk of flash flooding will continue throughout the week as more bands of wet weather sweep across Britain. Residents in the most vulnerable areas have been told that the next 48 hours are critical as river levels rise after the latest deluge.

But weather experts reassured families that the situation was not so acute as it was last summer, when western England and the Midlands endured the worst flooding recorded since 1947.

There were 49 flood warnings in place by mid-morning today, compared with more than 100 in July 2007. Another 0.8in (20mm) of rain is expected to fall in some parts of Britain this afternoon.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: "It is a mixed picture. Areas are already very saturated and rivers are responding very rapidly.

"But the good news is that gales are pushing the rainfall through very quickly.

"It seems that Wales and the West Midlands is getting the worst weather at the moment but we should make it clear that it is currently nowhere near the scale of last summer, when there were more than 100 flood warnings.

"The problems will continue throughout the week. The next few days will be crucial."

Many commuters endured a miserable journey to work this morning as the heavy rain spread to much of England and Wales by the morning rush hour.

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