Britain’s River Thames on flood alert

London itself is protected by the Thames Barrier, although a suburb to the south of the capital, Croydon, announced plans to divert rising floodwaters caused by heavy rain away from homes and businesses by pumping them into a pedestrian underpass.

Parts of the southwest of England have been under water for weeks after the wettest January since 1766, with more bad weather expected over the coming days. Forecasters at the Met Office said the run of winter storms, which have brought heavy rain and strong winds and seen high waves batter the English coastline, has been ‘exceptional in its duration’.

But there has been a growing tide of criticism at the official response, which has erupted into a full-blown political row. Many people in Somerset, one of the hardest-hit counties in the southwest, blame the devastating floods on the failure of the Environment Agency – a government body – to dredge local rivers. Communities minister Eric Pickles joined the attack on Sunday, suggesting the government ‘perhaps relied too much on the Environment Agency’s advice’ on flood prevention.

‘I am really sorry that we took the advice... we thought we were dealing with experts,’ Pickles, a member of Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative party, told BBC TV. Chris Smith, the head of the Environment Agency, hit back on Monday and accused ministers for holding back vital funds.