More flooding 'inevitable' as unrelenting rain batters southern and central England

In the middle of a long line of four-wheel-drive cars slowly negotiating the flooded road, a tiny Nissan Micra was struggling valiantly on, its headlights barely visible above the water. When it emerged, water pouring from its doors, the crowd of onlookers erupted into amused applause.

Residents of the picturesque Kent village of Yalding have become all too used to making light of a flood. But as the Environment Agency predicted flooding across the country on a scale similar to that which caused widespread devastation in 2000, thousands of homeowners braced themselves for the heartache to come.

The number of flood warnings rose again to around 130 overnight– affecting the whole of the South-east apart from London, and most of the central and East Anglian areas. The situation is expected to worsen with more rain predicted today.

The agency said the total amount of rainfall over the last few days had almost reached that of October two years ago, when thousands of people were driven from their homes.

"This is a our worst nightmare. All our alarms warning of imminent flooding are going off across the region. I am afraid flooding of homes is now virtually inevitable," said Ray Kemp of the Environment Agency. "We also have high winds. They are good because they will blow the weather system away, but also very worrying because the trees, which now have soggy roots, could start coming down."

However, the agency's head of flood defence, David Rooke, insisted that it had not been caught off guard. "We are ready. We are coping. We are issuing warnings to make sure people can take precautions and take action to safeguard themselves and property," he said.

West Cornwall was among the hardest hit areas, with flooding in Helston and Crowlas near Penzance, as well as Paignton town centre and Upton near Torquay. Farmland across the entire area was flooded, while police in Essex said that several main roads and many minor routes were closed. Football matches across the country were cancelled because of waterlogged pitches.

The agency insisted yesterday that 70km of flood defences installed since 2000 had lessened the impact, with Bewdley, near the Severn in Worcestershire, among the towns saved from a repeat of the destruction by a £3m flood barrier.

Yalding was not so lucky as homes began to flood despite dredging work earlier this year to improve the flow of the Medway. One man's misfortune proved another's tourist attraction as hordes of sightseers descended on the village. Standing on the bridge they gleefully pointed out submerged gardens and cellars, deaf to the mumbled complaints of "rubber-neckers" from passing locals.

Two-year-old Thomas Wild, equipped for the weather in matching Bob the Builder hat and wellington boots, was enjoying a day of leaping around in the big "puddles".

"We are local to the area and we wanted to come down and see the flood. It must be dreadful for those who live here but why buy a house in a flood area?" said his father, Brian, 38, from Tunbridge Wells.

Simon Mowat had also driven to Yalding with his son and girlfriend to see the river he had helped to dredge in the spring. Looking ruefully at the flooded plains and roads, he said simply: "I wanted to see if it had worked. I hasn't."

But, he added, as he looked around the expensive thatched homes and oasthouses, "It's a small price to pay to live here. It's only a couple of days a year."

Steve Edwards, a 38-year-old venture capitalist, whose expensive house sat right on the bridge overlooking the picturesque river, agreed. While his garden and cellar had flooded, he was confident his home was high enough to escape.

"At least we know no one will build on the flood plains in front of us and we will continue to look out over green pastures," he said.

Across the river his neighbour sat confidently in his dry home, having installed a £35,000 prototype flood barrier.

For 70-year-old Dennis and Shirley Bransby the situation was not so simple. Their modest house was submerged under four feet of water in 2000, and yesterday they looked nervously out at their watery garden, sandbags piled up against the back door.

"If it rains for a day we start to get worried," said Mr Bransby. Nevertheless his wife, a retired insurance worker, was confident they would still be insured despite the fact that companies are no longer obliged to provide cover for homeowners whose flood defences do not meet the Government's minimum stands.

Down the road at the ironically named Little Venice Leisure Park, Sonya Lewis and her husband decamped with their dog, cat and budgerigar when the flood water reached chest level. The couple, who lost their first caravan in the floods two years ago, made sure that their new one was built on a flotation system.

"This is the first time it has been used and it seems to be working. A lot of the caravans are bobbing around on the flotation units," she said.

Mrs Lewis was annoyed that nearby flood defences appeared to protect urban rather than rural areas. "There should be more money in place to prevent this happening quite so badly," said Mrs Lewis.

Many residents insisted that the Environment Agency had the situation under greater control than in 2000. A £160m, seven-year plan to change the river system in the area is being implemented in the hope of minimising the effects of heavy rain on the rivers Medway, Beult and Teise, which meet at Yalding.

"This is normal flooding for Yalding. It was far worse in 2000. It's life – you get on with it. All of the local residents pull together and the agencies are brilliant," said Geraldine Brown, the chairman of the parish council.

David Whitehead, 56, who gave up life as a stockbroker to take over the general store just a week ago, agreed.

"The locals are very upbeat," he said. "It's happened before and it will happen again. I haven't seen any tears. It is good old British spirit – chuck anything at us and we will survive."