Heavy rain and winds of up to 160 km/h have cut across England and Wales since yesterday evening. There have been over 179 floods reported from the south-east to the north-midlands and Wales.

Over 500 houses have lost power after lightning strikes and the mobile phone network has also been affected.

In Birmingham strong winds blew a mosque roof off.

And similar damages to buildings and properties have occurred all over the affected zone.

Local incident managers across the UK have advised people not to drive through flooded areas and to avoid swelled river banks and not to travel the flooded rivers in small crafts such as canoes or kayaks.

The weather reports have predicted heavy rain and strong winds across the UK. The estimated speed of the winds is roughly 75 km/h to 100 km/h.

Stephen Steadman, Mänchengladbach, Franz-Meyers-Gymnasium