Hundreds of cows were evacuated from around the village of Moorland on Thursday after the Environment Agency recommended residents of the village should evacuate, as flood waters began to rise and more severe weather was forecast for this weekend.

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Water in and around Moorland is thigh-deep in places. A convoy of farmers from the surrounding area, responding to an appeal made on a social networking site by one local farmer, helped move 550 animals from West Yeo farm to higher ground.

Amber Met Office weather warnings are currently covering large areas of Southern England and Wales, where forecasters say high winds and heavy rain are likely to cause flooding and disruption over the coming days.

Environment Agency Severe Flood warnings are still in force in two areas of Somerset, indicating potential danger to life. The Agency said late on Thursday that "successive bands of rain show no signs of easing. Further heavy rainfall is expected [on] Friday and Saturday, exacerbating the risk of flooding from rivers and surface water across the south west, central and south east of England."

Severe weather along the South coast is also set to return on Saturday, with large waves and strong winds threatening to cause flooding in parts of Devon and Dorset, where some communities and defences have been made vulnerable by storms earlier this week.

Paul Mustow, Flood Risk manager at the Environment Agency, said, "With no let up of this severe weather, the Environment Agency continues to have teams out on the ground who are working around the clock to protect homes and communities. Over 160,000 properties have been protected over the past five days. 

"We're preparing for yet more heavy rain into the weekend, which is falling on already saturated ground following the wettest January on record.   We are also prepared for the risks of more coastal flooding. We urge people to stay safe and not to walk or drive through flood water which can be dangerous and to take care near coastal paths and promenades for fear of being swept away."

Government flood spending figures called into question

Meanwhile, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles, filling in for Environment Secretary Owen Paterson who is undergoing emergency eye surgery, announced £130 million for flooding on Friday. Pickles and his fellow ministers have all claimed in recent days that the coalition government has out-spent all of its predecessors on flood defences. However, their assertions on flood spending have been challenged in recent weeks.

The latest assessment appears to show that, once the £130m which has been promised for the future is included, real terms government spending on flooding will return to around the same budget the Coalition inherited from the previous Labour government.    

Shadow environment secretary Maria Eagle MP said, "No matter which way Ministers spin the figures, the truth is that they didn’t take the threat of flooding seriously and were caught asleep on the job by the recent severe weather." Earlier in the week, it was revealed that government spending on domestic climate change adaptation measures has been cut be 41 percent under current Environment Secretary Owen Paterson.  

Following a visit to flood-hit areas of Somerset, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, NFU President Peter Kendall said on Friday, "The Government and Environment Agency must learn the lessons of these devastating floods. We have been here before and recently, in 2007 and 2012. Climate change scientists predict precisely this type of event becoming more frequent in future decades."

He continued, "We must see a re-balancing of flood defence spending towards maintenance, which has declined by £49 million over last five years. We also need to see high quality farmland being given a far higher priority in flood protection. The Government's policy on flood defence must recognise the importance of food production and the business of farming… any funding provided for recovery needs to reflect this."

At present, the Environment Agency has a remit to protect life and property, though not land, which is why flood defence measures have focused on towns and villages.

Following visits in the past fortnight from the Environment Secretary, Prince Charles and Environment Agency chair Lord Smith, government sources announced on Friday afternoon that Prime Minister David Cameron will also journey to the flood-hit Levels, in a bid to face down persistent criticism of his government's handling of the crisis.