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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Josh Salisbury and Jacob Phillips

Abbey Wood: Heavy rain causes people to abandon their cars as flood alert issued for River Thames

A flood alert has been issued for sections of the River Thames with nearby roads and footpaths expected to be covered in water.

The Environment Agency (EA) has issued an amber flood warning along the river between Putney Bridge and Teddington Weir, although no homes are expected to be flooded.

River levels are expected to reach around 4.82m at Richmond at 2.15pm on Wednesday.

The EA added that the river flow at Teddington Weir is high for this time of the year at 210 cubic metres per second and is rising. Flows are expected to remain high for the next few days.

The flood alert comes as cars were left stranded in south London on Tuesday night after flooding.

Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters were called to the scene in Abbey Wood at 6.15pm to reach the vehicles trapped in flood water.

Firefighters said no motorists were stuck inside their cars, and that they had managed to leave the affected area, which included the roundabout where Yarnton Way and Harrow Manorway meet.

“A number of vehicles have become stranded in flood water,” said a London Fire Brigade spokesperson shortly before 8pm.

“There are no motorists stuck inside stranded vehicles. Efforts are ongoing to recover the vehicles and clear standing water from the area.”

Road closures were put in place and motorists were advised to avoid the area. The cause of the flooding was not immediately clear.

A bus passenger who shared footage of water coming onto their bus asked: “Anyone got a boat?!”

Another local said: “Everywhere is madness!" while a third added: "Didn’t know Abbey Wood had a boating lake by Lidl."

The London Fire Brigade spokesperson added: "The Brigade is working alongside multi-agency service partners to respond to these incidents."

Flooding was also reported on Nathan Way in Plumstead, to which firefighters were also responding on Tuesday night. Road closures were also in place.

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