A team of Norfolk firefighters sent to help deal with flooding in the south west of England has now been stood down.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service's urban search and rescue team had been sent to Taunton, in Somerset, along with a specialist welfare officer and subject matter adviser.

They arrived in Taunton at about 3am today but have now been stood down as they are no longer required.

The Norfolk firefighters were reciprocating the support received from outside the county in early December when the Norfolk coastline was battered by high tides and flooding.

This time around Norfolk is predicted to miss the brunt of the current bad weather but elsewhere it is a different story, with parts of the country being affected by a combination of high tides, heavy rains and strong winds.

This morning the Environment Agency (EA) issued 21 of the most serious severe flood warnings, issued when there is a threat to life or property, affecting the South West, Gloucestershire and Wales.

The EA has also issued 188 flood warnings across England and Wales and a further 233 flood alerts.

A flood alert was put in place yesterday afternoon along the north Norfolk coast from Old Hunstanton to Weybourne.

Another flood alert, put in place on Christmas Day, continues at the Hundred Foot Washes, also known as the Ouse Washes, including the causeways at Welney, Earith and Sutton Gault.

In a statement on its website, the EA said: 'The flood risk will extend along the UK coastline from north-west England, through Wales and south-west and southern England. Areas particularly at risk include the Isles of Scilly, the north and south coasts of Devon and Cornwall, Dorset and the coastline of Wales.'