London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

Families urged to leave homes immediately as UK braces for Storm Bella

Families urged to leave homes immediately as UK braces for Storm Bella

Many families in Bedfordshire have been urged to leave their homes immediately on Christmas Day as the UK braces for Storm Bella.

Bedfordshire Police have ‘strongly’ advised residents living near the River Great Ouse in north Bedfordshire to seek alternative accommodation amid fears of flooding tonight.

Officers said the request ‘overrides’ tier four coronavirus restrictions in place, with people ‘permitted to go to other people’s homes’.

Bedford International Athletic Stadium and Bromham Village Hall are both to be used as emergency Covid-safe assistance centres.

The Met Office has issued a Yellow warning for wind for the whole of England and Wales as well as the far south of Scotland from 3pm on 26 December to 12pm on 27 December.

An Amber national severe weather warning has also been issued for parts of south Wales and across southern England, with gusts expected to reach up to 60-70mph in exposed coastal locations.

Bedford Borough Council has warned of ‘significant levels of floodwater expected to impact Bedford and other parts of the borough’.

Superintendent Steve Ashdown said officers had visited just over 1,300 homes in the area on Thursday evening.



Local areas flooded after the River Great Ouse burst its banks


Flooding on the B645 road in Stonely, Cambridgeshire


St Ives in Cambridgeshire on Christmas Eve morning


He said: ‘The river is currently at heightened levels and we’re predicting a significant flooding event by 8pm this evening.

‘If you received one of those notices last night, you are in one of those properties that are most at risk from this flood.

‘We would encourage you to leave if it is safe for you to do so, as soon as you are able to do so.

‘Appreciate the timing of this at Christmas Day is not great, but the risk to you and your family and wellbeing is significant.’

Mayor Dave Hodgson said The Environment Agency was expecting ‘the highest level of flooding seen in Bedford Borough in a number of years’.

He added: ‘Working with partners we are strongly encouraging people who are at risk of flooding and have been contacted to leave if they can do so safely.

‘If your property is at risk of flooding and there is threat to life, please call 999 and ask for Bedfordshire Fire & Rescue.

‘If you need assistance, there is support and advice available via the Council’s floodline on 01234 718007.

‘For this to strike over the Christmas period is really hard, especially after the changes to plans that so many of us have already had to adjust to. But this is a very serious situation- if you can and you’ve been advised to, please take action to keep yourselves and your families safe.’

People are advised to turn off gas, water and electricity and move any valuables upstairs before evacuating.


Storm Bella is expected to bring heavy rain and winds of up to 70mph


Flooding at Haw Bridge in Tirley, Gloucestershire on Christmas Day after the River Severn burst its banks


It comes after homes and businesses were flooded and dozens of people were rescued from vehicles after heavy rain fell this week.

The A40 dual carriageway at Highnam in Gloucester was almost impassable on Wednesday night (Gloucestershire Police/PA)

A weather warning for rain stretched from East Anglia, across Leicester, parts of Birmingham and north London, and through to mid-Wales and Cornwall, and remained in place until 2am on Thursday.

Across the country, more than 108 flood warnings and 159 flood alerts were still in force at 10am on Thursday as huge amounts of water worked its way through river catchments.

There were 16 warnings for the Severn and on the Welsh border, and 14 across Northamptonshire.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire Fire and Rescue Service said it was ‘deluged’ with calls from 3pm on Wednesday, and rescued 44 people from stranded vehicles.

The brigade said it also helped homeowners after ‘serious flooding’ across the two county area.

Drivers were stuck for several hours on a stretch of the M50 motorway near Ledbury, Herefordshire, posting images taken from their car seats showing running water flooding the carriageway.

Properties in various parts of the country, including East Anglia and Gloucester, were also flooded as there was up to 2 inches of rainfall in some areas.

Patrick Lloyd, 27, from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, said he woke up to find much of his home had been submerged in water, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

He added that he had to help rescue an elderly neighbour who had become trapped without power.

Mr Lloyd said the woman, 86, had eventually been taken to hospital after spending around 50 minutes in the ‘freezing’ floodwater.

He said: ‘Luckily a bloke driving by saw her and got out and helped us with her. We had to get the fire service out to get her on to a board and we lifted her out for an ambulance.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×