Flood alert issued for River Wear at Sunderland as Storm Christoph hits North East

Storm Christoph has brought heavy rain across much of the UK and an alert has now been issued to warn of possible flooding.

River levels have risen at the Lower River Wear as a result of heavy rainfall on Tuesday, January 19, and overnight.

As a result, flooding of riverside footpaths, low lying land and roads is ‘expected to continue’ on Wednesday, January 20.

A spokesman for the flood information service said: “Further rainfall is forecast to continue falling across the catchment today with some heavier bursts of rain this evening and consequently we expect river levels to remain high.

"We are closely monitoring the situation but do not currently expect to issue any Flood Warnings.

"Our incident response staff are out on the ground checking defences and clearing any blockages from rivers. Please avoid using low lying footpaths near local watercourses.”

Heavy rainfall is set to continue throughout the day across Sunderland and the North East as the Met Office's yellow weather warning remains in place until 12pm on Thursday, January 21.

The weather warning started at midnight on Tuesday, January 19.

Forecasters have warned that homes and businesses could be flooded and could lead to train and bus services being delayed or cancelled.

Spray and flooding could also lead to difficult driving conditions and some lane closures – which could mean some communities may be cut off by flooded roads.

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