High tides and gales batter England's east coast at Scarborough.

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Police divers found the woman next to her Land Rover

Parts of the UK have been hit by floods, with heavy rains and wind forecast to continue over the weekend.

Scotland has had snow, while up to 25mm (1in) of rain is expected in northern England and over 30mm in the south.

Three flood warnings have been issued for the north-east and 59 flood watches across the rest of England.

It comes as police named a woman who died when a Land Rover was swept down a river near Cropton, North Yorks, on Friday as 53-year-old Vanessa Robson.

Police found the vehicle almost totally submerged under a bridge on the North York Moors. It took divers four hours to find her body.

In Scotland two walkers were rescued after being caught in an avalanche.

The men, one of whom had a leg injury, were airlifted from the Cam Ghleann area of Glencoe in a rescue hampered by snowy conditions.

The Environment Agency’s flood warnings were in force on part of the River Ouse and the River Derwent in North Yorkshire and the River Nene east of Peterborough.

Flood warnings mean that flooding of homes and businesses is expected.

Less serious flood watches indicate that low-lying land and roads could become flooded.

Winds of 40-50mph are forecast for England on Sunday.

BBC broadcast meteorologist Philip Avery said: “The problem is that the ground is very saturated at the moment so any extra rain is going to probably cause flooding.

“At the moment there are four flood warnings – I would anticipate that will go up quite dramatically in the next 24 hours.

“There will be a fair bit of localised flooding and it would not surprise me if one or two major roads were affected too.”

Mr Avery also warned that strong winds coming off the sea may contribute to coastal flooding.

Southern and eastern areas of the UK are expected to bear the brunt, while high spring tides could combine with the rainfall to increase the risk of flooding along the east coast.

Flash floods

Some 50-70mm (2-3in) of rain has already fallen in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight this week, with sodden ground likely to cause problems.

On Friday there were widespread reports of flash flooding in Yorkshire, with roads near Scarborough submerged.

North Yorkshire Fire Service said there were fewer flooding calls overnight.

The Environment Agency’s Andrew Gilham said: “We’ve had a lot of rain during this week and as a result the ground is now saturated and river levels have risen.

“Now is an ideal time for anyone living in an area vulnerable to flooding to think about the steps they can take to protect their properties.

“By taking simple precautions we can limit the damage a flood can leave behind.”

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Madeira was still cleaning up after fatal floods last week

Powerful winds have hit parts of Spain, Portugal and France, causing serious damage, officials said.

As winds of up to 140km/h (87mph) lashed parts of Spain, the interior minister warned people to stay inside, avoid driving and postpone walks.

The weather was blamed for three deaths – one in each of the countries.

Portugal’s Madeira island, which is reeling from downpours which killed dozens of people last week, was also hit by the fresh storm.

All of Portugal was placed on orange alert – the second highest – by civil protection authorities.

A falling tree killed a boy in northern Portugal, authorities said, according to AFP.

‘No woodland walks’

Spain’s Canary Islands, particularly La Palma, Gran Canaria and Tenerife, were hit by the storm, although there was not much damage.

Some lampposts were blown over and flights cancelled on Friday.

“This is not the weekend to go walking in the woods, watching the waves or repairing the tiles on your roof-tops,” Interior Minister Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba said.

Four French departments were placed on red alert, and 66 out of 95 were on orange alert for 24 hours from Saturday evening.

A man was also killed by a falling tree in the the southern Pyrenees region, police said.

Spain’s north-western region of Galicia, the Basque country, Castilla y Leon and Cantabria were also on high alert.

Forecasters expected winds of up to 160km/h (100mph) in those regions.

An elderly woman was killed when a wall collapsed on her in Galicia, AFP reported.

Spain had 20,000 officials on alert to try to prevent or repair any damage, while the airport authority warned of possible delays or cancellations.

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High tides next week could cause flooding on the A4 Portway, a major route into Bristol.

People are being advised to avoid the Portway on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in case the road floods.

The highest tides of the year are expected on Monday morning and for the following 60 hours. Tide times are between 7.30am and 9am and at 12 hourly intervals.

Forecasters are predicting a depression in the Atlantic which means there is likely to be a surge on the tide.

People living next to or near the River Avon are being advised to protect their homes. If the River Avon does top its banks, the place likely to be affected first is the road beneath the Suspension Bridge.

Some car parks will be closed for the relevant days.

Pedestrians should avoid walking near the river at high tide as a safety precaution.

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A woman holds on to her umbrella in Manchester as wind and rain hit parts of England.

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Following the recent heavy snow over Scotland, February looks set to end on a stormy note across England and Wales with wet weather leading to localised flooding.

Heavy rain is expected across much of the country on Sunday and will fall onto already saturated ground across the south and east of England. This brings the risk of flooding from rising river levels, while high tides along the north-east, eastern and southern coastlines could result in some coastal flooding.

The Met Office and the Environment Agency will continue to monitor the situation over the weekend and urge people to remain vigilant and keep up to date with the latest weather forecast and flooding situation.

Richard Young, Chief Forecaster at the Met Office, said: “After spells of wet weather this week, we are expecting more heavy rain and strong winds over the south of the country on Sunday. We are monitoring how the situation develops and you should keep up to date with the latest forecast on TV, radio or online.”

Craig Woolhouse, Environment Agency Head of Incident Management, said: “In light of the forecast for more rain over the coming days, the Environment Agency is continuing to closely monitor river and sea levels and our teams have been out on the ground checking flood defences across the country.”

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