Polling stations in south-east hit by flooding

POLLING stations were forced to close and people had to wade through water to cast their vote due to heavy rain in England’s south-east.

Some voters were told to wear wellies because of flooding, while other stations had to be relocated after being inundated with water.

Scotland, in contrast, basked in sunshine. In the Borders, temperatures hit 23˚C, with much of the rest of the country seeing highs of at least 19˚C, with only isolated showers.

However, in London, Kingston upon Thames Council moved two voting locations, and a polling station in Barking and Dagenham was shut by a burst main and relocated to within walking distance.

One polling station in Dover experienced a power outage and was running on a generator for much of the day, though a spokesman said the outage “did not affect opening”.

Flooding outside stations made some tricky to access. Merton Council tweeted a video of a waterlogged walkway outside Sacred Heart School polling station in New Malden, advising voters to “wear your wellies”.

A council spokeswoman said no one had been turned away and that staff were doing “everything they can” to clear water away.

At a polling station at Grange Primary in Newham voters were forced to hitch up their trousers and wade through water outside to cast their votes. The council said that despite the water everyone was still able to vote.

Mother-of-two Jodie Rose, 37, from Barking in east London, who said her garden was flooded with sewage water, said flooding in her road following the heavy rain would deter voters.

Mrs Rose, a teacher, said: “My nan is 89 years of age and she’s already said that she won’t be going out to vote.”

Out of the 3,754 polling stations in the capital, five were forced to open late to voters. In Newham two stations opened slightly later due to issues with staff travel and flooding, and one station in Tower Hamlets and one in Redbridge were also affected.

London Fire Brigade said it had taken more than 550 weather-related emergency calls and attended more than 400 incidents caused by heavy rain and thunderstorms.