Heavy rain and floods hit roads and rail to spoil Christmas getaway for millions A young Christmas shopper gazes at a flooded city centre in York as heavy rain continues to cause flooding and disruption across the UK. The Christmas getaway was severely hampered for millions of people on Saturday when torrential rain caused widespread flooding, leading to the closure of many roads and railway lines. Hundreds of homes and shops had to be evacuated as flood waters rose after severe weather warnings were issued for parts of the West Country and North Yorkshire. The Environment Agency (EA) warned of further disruption as more heavy rain was forecast for Sunday. Rail passengers heading to Devon, Cornwall and parts of Wales were advised by the Arriva and First Great Western train operators not to attempt to travel unless it was absolutely necessary. Trains were terminating at Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon as lines were closed by floods and landslides. Alternative transport by road was laid on to take passengers farther west, but progress was slow because of blocked roads. Virgin suspended services between Crewe and Chester when the line became impassable and East Midlands Trains ran replacement buses between Uttoxeter and Stoke-on-Trent. Services between Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington were disrupted by a landslide. Braunton in north Devon was cut off after the river Caen burst its banks, turning the main road into a torrent. Police asked people in more than 200 properties to leave for their own safety. Liz Spear, chairman of Braunton parish council, said newly built flood defences were overwhelmed by the volume of water. It's really bad. We had flooding seven years ago, but it was nothing like this," she said. It's disappointing really, because the EA have just spent over £1m on new flood defence schemes - two this year - but they've been totally overwhelmed, absolutely. We've had rain on and off all summer, so everywhere is saturated and now we're having our normal heavy rain that we get in the winter and the sponge is already soaked up; it can't take any more. In Cornwall, the county council said 117 properties had been affected by flooding and that the fire service had been pumping 4,500 litres of water per minute to reduce the risk of severe flooding in Helston. A further 195 people were advised to leave their homes in Lostwithiel. Fire crews in Dorset used an inflatable boat to rescue three people stuck in cars in standing water near Christchurch. The Environment Agency issued two severe flood warnings - which indicate that there is a risk to life - for Braunton, and one each for Helston and Lostwithiel, both in Cornwall. The agency has also issued 108 flood warnings - where flooding is expected - and 313 flood alerts, which means that flooding is possible. A spokesman said there was a heightened risk across Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Bristol, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West and East Sussex, south Wales, Ceredigion, Gwynedd and North Yorkshire. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency issued 17 flood warnings and there were warnings of avalanches in the mountains. Paul Mustow, head of flood incident management at the Enviroment Agency, said: "Flooding has a devastating impact on people's lives. If you're going away for the holidays, give yourself extra time to make your journey, check your route before travelling and avoid driving through flood water. If you're leaving your property empty over Christmas, check the risk of flooding before you leave, move valuable items to safety and ask neighbours to keep an eye on your home. Tom Tobler, a forecaster with MeteoGroup, the Press Association weather division, said heavy and persistent rain would affect almost every part of the UK. "Plymouth has recorded 49mm of rain in the last 12 hours, and across the south-west and south Wales there has been 15mm to 30mm fairly widely," he said. The transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, said: "We urge people travelling through the most affected areas to plan ahead and check the latest travel information. We will continue to ensure everything possible is being done to help people get to where they need to be for Christmas. Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Bristol, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West and East Sussex, south Wales, Ceredigion, Gwynedd and North Yorkshire, York.