In its latest update on the impacts of widespread flooding seen earlier this month, the government has warned that there could be more disruption and potentially some property damage from flooding over the Christmas period. In the latest flooding update, published on Wednesday (23rd December), Defra and the Environment Agency said they'd local councils are doing all they can to help communities recover from extreme weather and flooding which resulted from Storm Desmond at the beginning of the month.

The government update also warned of further unsettled weather over the Christmas and New Year period. Though the amount of rainfall forecast would not usually lead to disruption, given that land in the north and west of the country is already saturated from the extremely heavy rainfall seen this month, and river levels are already high, there may be further flood impacts to roads and potentially to some properties in the north of England.

The government said persistent rainfall in Wales could also see parts of Herefordshire and Shropshire experience isolated flooding from the River Wye and River Severn.

The Environment Agency is monitoring the situation closely and will issue further flood alerts and warnings if required. The Agency recommends checking local flood risk online , and flooding @EnvAgency and #floodaware on Twitter to keep abreast of the situation.

Last week, the government opened its farming recovery scheme, meaning farmers affected by the floods in Cumbria, Lancashire and Northumberland are able to collect grants worth up to £20,000 to help restore damaged agricultural land. An application form and guidance were published on Friday 18 December. Farmers experiencing difficulties getting online can call the Rural Payments helpline on 03000 200 301.