The persistent heavy downpours that have swamped much of the UK will continue today and cause some areas to experience a whole month’s rainfall in just 24 hours, weather experts say.

A hot air balloon flight ended in tragedy in Britain today when two men plunged to their deaths while attempting to climb to high altitude.

A hot air balloon on a high-altitude flight lost control and plummeted to the ground in England today, killing both occupants, emergency services said.