Traffic chaos on the M25 as heavy rain causes section of motorway to 'collapse' during morning rush hourÂ Section of busy motorway close to Leatherhead collpases after heavy rain caused damage Weather experts say more torrential rain is on the way over the weekend Some drivers had their tyres shredded on uneven road surface and were forced to pull over AA chief says M25 is 'road to hell' today and called for probe into damage Roadworks were undertaken on the stretch of road overnight and Highways Agency has contacted contractor Heavy rain this morning caused a section of the M25 to collapse, causing huge tailbacks on the UK's busiest motorway. Surrey Police said many drivers suffered damaged tyres after the road near Leatherhead fell in early this morning. Traffic inched forward on the motorway between junction 9 and 12, causing a snake of traffic around 15 miles long. Highways workers are clearing debris from the anti-clockwise carriageway and three lanes were closed off.Â The scene at the M25 where huge delays were caused when a pothole opened up in bad weather. Specialist repair crews were on the scene just hours after the first incident was reported The scene at the M25 anti clockwise side at Junction 9.Â The incident has resulted in delays of over an hour Shredded: A number of motorists were forced to pull over because of tyre damage Drivers were caught up in the jam for more than three hours as three lanes were closed anti-clockwise as Highways Agency workers desperately tried to repair the damage. A spokesperson confirmed the area had seen roadworks overnight and added: 'We are trying to find out from the road contractor what is going on, but at the moment we just know that there is a defect.' The incident has resulted in delays of more than an hour. Surrey Police is at the scene and the Highways Agency has sent officials to assess and repair the road.Â Surrey Roads Police tweeted: 'M25 J9 pothole incident will be ongoing for many hours I'm afraid.' Among the thousands caught up in the travel chaos are those heading to Gatwick Airport in West Sussex. In normal conditions, those driving to Gatwick would use the M25 and turn south for Gatwick on to the M23.Â The agency merely described the problem as 'repairs to the road infrastructure'. A band of rain will move north east across the UK, leaving drier and calmer conditions in its wake in parts of Wales and central and southern England Needs must: A driver dons overalls to get some meagre protection from the rain Chaos: A car is towed away on the hard shoulder of the strife-hit M25 today But on Twitter people posted pictures of an uneven road surface, accompanying the pictures with words such as 'collapse' and 'subsidence'.Â AA president Edmund King was scathing about the situation on the motorway. He said: 'The M25 really is the Road to Hell today. The M25 is critical to the nation and today's incident highlights just how dependant we are on it to function 24/7. There must be a thorough investigation into this incident. It is disappointing that not only did the road fail but it placed many drivers in danger and also reportedly damaged a number of vehicles. If this happened on the railways passengers could claim compensation. As it has happened on the roads drivers just have to put up with it. Heavy rain made driving conditions hazardous today. There were tailbacks on the M3 in Hampshire while accidents caused hold-ups on the M6 just north of Birmingham and on the M50 between Tewkesbury and Ross-on-Wye.Â Fears of flooding have hit parts of Britain after a number of weather warnings for wind and rain. Northern Ireland and Scotland can expect windy conditions for much of the day, with northern and eastern parts of Northern Ireland facing gusts of up to 70mph. Yesterday winds speeds of almost 100mph were recorded on the south coast of England. Chaos:Â Among the thousands caught up in the travel chaos are those heading to Gatwick Airport in West Sussex Surrey Police were on the scene to manage the flow of traffic after three lanes were closed off Heavy rain this morning caused a section of the M25 to collapse, causing huge tailbacks on the UK's busiest motorway A band of rain will move north east across the UK, leaving drier and calmer conditions in its wake in parts of Wales and central and southern England. The Met Office predicted that 10-20 mm of rain could fall within 2-3 hours from this cold front sweeping across the region. The strongest of the winds should remain to the west of the warning area, although very localised squalls may accompany the cold front across south-west England and Wales. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said it is expecting further heavy rain in Tayside, Angus and Aberdeenshire through today and into the weekend. Surrey Police is at the scene and the Highways Agency has sent officials to assess and repair the road Surrey Police said many drivers suffered damaged tyres after the road near Leatherhead fell in early this morning The Environment Agency (EA) said that localised river flooding is possible for parts of south-west Wales, east Devon and the south-east of England. It could see spray and waves topping coastal defences and promenades. The EA has 20 flood alerts in place across the South East, the West, the Midlands and Pembrokeshire in Wales. Residents on the Somerset Levels, who have seen increased river levels and a week of rain, are expecting the downpour to continue to the weekend. Fortunately a repeat of February's flooding which devastated homes, businesses, agriculture and wildlife, is currently unlikely. A project to widen the riverbanks of the River Tone and the River Parrett finished on October 31, and a five-mile section of both rivers has also been dredged. Rebecca Horsington of the flood campaign group Flag welcomed this but said that a long-term commitment needs to be made to continue dredging the rivers. The EA has 20 flood alerts in place across the South East, the West, the Midlands and Pembrokeshire in Wales She said: 'It's very frustrating because we know it needs to be done, the river levels are high but it's not doing much unusual for this time of year. 'We have had these dredges but there's no long-term commitment. They don't trust the authorities, they don't trust where they live any more.' Jo Elton, 49, and her friend Sandra Thexton, 68, who live in West Yeo, a hamlet near one of the worst-affected villages, Moorland, were among more than 150 Somerset households who were told to leave their homes. They were out of their home for two months and despite narrowly escaping being flooded, they are still cleaning up. They were stranded in their house for a week while they waited to be rescued.Â Rain on the fallen:Â Volunteers battle poor weather conditions to continue to remove the ceramic poppy installation in the moat of the Tower of London today Wet weather work: The team of volunteers working in the pouring rain to pluck out the poppies, wearing waterproof jackets to keep dry. Right,Â Pedestrians and commuters struggle on a rainy day in London Ms Elton said: 'Even though we are very aware of the levels of water that are required to put us at threat, you are on alert the whole time and I think that's unlikely to go away. It was very scary, particularly when we saw water knocking walls down. We went out and there were five bar gates and hedges covered in water. The stress to the animals and to us was incredibly high. Laura Young, of the Met Office, said: 'It's mainly because you have already had quite a lot of rainfall in that area. You are looking at 10mm to 20mm. On south-facing hills this could get up to 40mm. 'That's not a lot of water for that time of year but it's coming after a lot of rain and you could see a lot of rivers being quite full and responding quite quickly.' Stoic: This impressively-moustached cyclist wasn't going to let a bit of rain put him off his morning ride Grim journey: Commuters shelter under umbrellas near London Bridge as they brave the rain in the capital The problem last year was that there were no dry days in Somerset. An EA spokesman said: 'There may be further isolated showers over the next few days but river levels are dropping and the risk of flooding is very low. We'll continue to monitor river levels closely and keep local communities informed. In Somerset some agricultural floodplain is currently storing water as a result of planned management of river levels. This is completely normal for this time of year. We are not expecting any properties to flood. It would take very heavy rainfall over a long period of time to put homes at risk. Torrential: Flooding on A3090 in Winchester, Hampshire. More floods are forecast as rain continues over the weekend Drivers have been forced to battle against the elements in Birmingham,West Midlands on the morning commute Deluge: A road is flooded close to Cannon Hill Park in central Birmingham Meanwhile, aÂ search has been called off following reports a man was hit by a wave off the Devon coast. Coastguard officials said it was contacted just after 9.30pm last night with a member of the public reporting seeing an elderly man by the sea wall along Meadfoot Sea Road in Torquay. The witness described seeing large waves crashing over the wall, and spotting the man briefly before he disappeared from view. The Torbay Coastguard rescue team, two lifeboats from Torbay along with the RAF search and rescue helicopter from Chivenor conducted extensive searches of the area but nothing was found. A Coastguard spokesman said: 'Weather conditions on scene are described as poor, with 1.5 metre swell and a strong onshore wind. 'Unless any new information comes to light, the search has been stood down.'Â An SOS went out to the Government today as the West Country found itself in the front line of yet more storms and torrential rain. Police warned drivers to beware of aqua-planing as roads were turned into lakes during the morning rush hour. As the heavens opened yet again, communities begged the government to put more into flood defences. A report today said Cornwall was battered twelve times in just three months during last winter's storms, and if experts are right, the frequency of 'freak' weather will increase in the coming years. Cars travel through flood water in Helston in Cornwall as rain and wet weather swept the region in 2013 Clearing up the damage cost Â£21m but the local economy was hit even harder, with tourists put off holidaying in the area. Now Cornwall Council wants more money, more help to stop power cuts and to make it easier to call out the military. The report says 'Huge damage was caused to coastal infrastructure on numerous occasions and it is estimated that Â£4.4m of interim and Â£17m of permanent capital repairs were required as a result. An estimated Â£8.2m was lost from visitors not coming to Cornwall in January/February 2014 alone. First Great Western train company reported a loss of two thirds of passengers into Cornwall and Devon while the Dawlish line was closed, despite alternative transport being provided. At the height of the storms last winter, Coversack was 'cut in half', people in Kingsand were evacuated as waves battered down front doors and residents in Bude, Porthtowan and Penzance were also told to leave their homes. The report warns that climate change will mean the frequency and severity of storms hitting Cornwall will increase. Edwina Hannaford, who's in charge of the environment at the council, said 'We have to remember that Cornwall, as a peninsula, for storms that come across the Atlantic - we're first on. I did have it described to me that we are the flood defence for London. And I think that point was well taken. The communities of Cornwall are enormously resilient - they do help themselves. 'But sometimes when it's so enormous - like the storms were last winter - we do need a bit of a helping hand. 'That's why we're using this report to lobby the government and we're doing that with other local authorities in the south-west.'