Man jet-skis on flooded roads after Britain is battered by rain and hail

Roads across the UK have flooded with protective barriers put in place as heavy rain and hail lashed down in some parts of the country.

The water was so high that cars became submerged as rivers burst their banks.

But the floods provided one man with the perfect opportunity to try out a different form of transport. The jet ski.

Pictures and video from Castleford, West Yorkshire, showed a joyrider looping around drivers who were stuck in flood water.

York is among cities across the Midlands, northern England and parts of Wales that have been battered with heavy rain, hail and rising river levels.

There were 29 flood warnings and 37 flood alerts in force today across as the Environment Agency said crews were installing temporary defences.

Flood barriers went up in Shrewsbury and Bewdley, going up to Ironbridge and Wribbenhall to protect from the rising River Severn in the Midlands.

In a statement, the agency said: ‘We have seen localised flooding in the Calder Valley, the Greater Manchester area, York and along the River Severn.

‘River levels in some areas will continue to rise over the next few days in response to recent rainfall, however the outlook is for increasingly settled and dry conditions which will allow river levels to fall quickly in all but the slowest responding rivers.

‘We have officers out on the ground checking defences, clearing drainage channels and supporting affected communities.’

Testing conditions brought disruption to parts of the UK over the weekend, with Capel Curig in Caernarfonshire, Wales, one of the worst-hit areas.

It saw some 136.6mm of rain in just 24 hours – which forecasters say is the equivalent of a month’s worth.

Flooding across parts of the rail network forced Northern to part-suspend services on several of its routes in Yorkshire and the North West on Saturday.

The Met Office earlier said temperatures are set to fall overnight, with parts of Scotland set to drop to below freezing and cover the ground in a dusting of frost.

Met Office Meteorologist Sophie Yeomans told Metro.co.uk: ‘Overnight its going to get quite chilly and many of us could be waking up to the odd patch of frost tomorrow morning, especially if you’ve had some rain or if there is still snow on the high ground.

‘The west is going to see more cloud and patches of light rain and winds.

‘Looking into next week it’s going to be much more settled, but that isn’t to say there won’t be any cloud and rain outside.

‘For the most part temperatures will be in the range of around 12°C or 13°C during the days, and could get higher when we have a sunny spell at the end of the week.’