Travel disruption follows day of storms and floods

FLOODS wrecked road and rail travel again today with major train routes and some highways closed.

The two main London to Scotland train firms – East Coast and Virgin West Coast – had services disrupted, with East Coast unable to run trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh.

The storms, which led to the death of teacher Mike Ellis in Shropshire yesterday, also saw a spate of road closures, particularly in Worcestershire, Cheshire and Cumbria.

One of the worst-hit areas was the north-east of England, with flooding affecting roads in County Durham and Tyne and Wear.

Passengers travelling between England and Scotland endured nightmare rail journeys.

Due to flooding and a landslip near Berwick, there were no trains running between Newcastle and Berwick, with the line not expected to open until tomorrow morning.

The Berwick problems meant there were no East Coast services to and from Glasgow Central or Inverness. Also, the overnight sleeper service between London and Aberdeen was cancelled.

Forecasters said the month was likely to be one of the wettest Junes on record.

The good news for travellers came after 78 flights were cancelled yesterday due to fog.