East Lancashire residents are being told to take care and avoid walking, cycling or driving through flood water following heavy rain.

A flood alert remains in place for parts of Darwen, Blackburn, Trawden, Burnley, Nelson, Colne, Haslingden, Rawtenstall and Accrington boroughs in the Upper River Irwell, River Calder and Lower River Ribble and Darwen following heavy rain on Monday, September 30.

After a yellow weather warning yesterday, the environment agency is still warning that flooding is possible, with an update due at 10am this morning for some areas and 3.30pm for others.

Yesterday's warning said: “Flooding is possible when river levels are at their highest from 3pm on 30/09/2024.

“Areas most at risk include River Ribble from Samlesbury and the River Darwen from Darwen including Blackburn, Preston, Walton-Le-Dale, Pleasington and Higher Walton.

“Further flooding is possible this evening as river levels remains high due to heavy rainfall.

“We are closely monitoring the situation.”

Flooding of roads and low-lying land is also still possible and yesterday crashes were reported county-wide, and businesses were forced to close.

Read more: Met Office issues yellow weather warning with threat of flooding

Read more: Flood alerts issued for these East Lancs towns as UK battered with rain
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According to the Environment Agency data, water levels at the River Darwen reached 1.43m at 6pm yesterday – exceeding the normal range of 1.25m but the height of the water is now falling.

The River Calder at Whalley Weir is also falling, having reached 2.62m at 8pm yesterday. As of 9am, the water is reported to have dropped to 1m.

A yellow rain warning is no longer in force for East Lancashire, though parts of the east of England, including Leicester, Peterborough, Milton Keynes, and Cambridge, are still under a yellow warning.

In Blackburn, the Met Office says to expect light rain changing to overcast by lunchtime and to expect drier and more settled spell of weather over the next five days.

On Wednesday, the weather should turn drier – with sunny intervals forecast throughout the day.

The weather then turns sunnier on Thursday, October 3, with sun throughout the day. The next spot of rain is then forecast for Saturday night, with the Met Office currently predicting drizzle.

Temperatures throughout the week are forecast for highs in the mid-teens, at around 15°C and 16°C.