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Children dressed in wellington boots sit on a wall and play in St Blazey Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA 3.09pm: Cottages close to the river Fowey in Lostwithiel have just been evacuated, according to Leo Hickman, our man at the scene. Officials are nervous about the vulnerability of the old bridge, he tells me.

To hear the full Audioboo, turn off the auto-refresh button at the top of the page

(That's it for now. There'll be more soon on our weather and flooding pages)

2.58pm: Our picture desk has put together a striking gallery of images from the floods. It includes this one of firemen knee-deep in water in someone's home - check out what's written on the blackboard.

2.35pm: Leo Hickman has filed a new description of the scene in Lostwithiel. You can read his full account in tomorrow's paper, but here's the start of it. Twitter user luke_watts took this photo (left) of the same scene.

A lone silk shoe lies like Cinderella's abandoned slipper in the inch-deep brown slick carpeting the floor at Fantasia Bridal on Queen Street.

The sign above the rack of muddied wedding dresses stillspeaks to the excited, expectant customers that were due for their fitting today: "Please remove your Jimmy Choo's!" Behind it, Sue Read, the shop's owner, sits on a chair too distraught to talk.

Yesterday, the talk at the shop was of royal weddings. Today, the only talking point is the worst flashflood to hit the Cornish town in living memory after 40mm of rain fell on the hills above the ancient stannary town in less than an hour just before dawn.

"None of our brides will be affected by this," says Sue Read's husband defiantly, leaning on a broom in the doorway. "This is our display stock. We store all the dresses that the brides will wear to their weddings elsewhere, but we've still probably lost stock worth at least £100,000. Even our other shop in the town was affected. We had a leaking roof up there. And we also had a shop in Abingdon that was hit by the floods there a while back. It's unbelievable really."

2.28pm: Here's a robocall flood warning for the River Fowey from the Environment Agency.

"Act now," it says rather ominously.

To hear the full Audioboo, turn off the auto-refresh button at the top of the page 2.20pm: 25 flood warnings remain in place for south west England, according to the Environment Agency.

2.13pm: Flood water had subsided in Mevagissey and the number of properties needing to be evacuated was not as high as the police previously thought.

Earlier both the police and the fire service said 100 homes were being evacuated. The force has yet to update that number.

"Flood warnings remain on the Upper River Tamar, River Fowey and River Kensey," a Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said.

According to BBC Radio Cornwall there are concerns that the river Fowey in Lostwithiel could burst its banks because of the high tide expected about now. The old bridge is also looking increasingly vulnerable, it reports.

1.58pm: Here's more video of the damage in Lostwithiel - after about two minutes you can see the extent of debris on the roads.

1.48pm: Emergency medical supplies are being dispensed by NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly primary care trust.

A spokeswoman emailed this:

For people whose medicine has been damaged by flooding the primary care trust has arranged for emergency medicine to be dispensed without the need for a prescription. Please go to your local pharmacy and if necessary they can call your GP to authorise dispensing. In Mevagissey, where the pharmacy is unable to open, patients can go to the surgery where emergency medicines can be dispensed.

1.42pm: The leader of Cornwall council, Alec Robertson, says David Cameron has been in touch with him to express sympathy and offer assistance.

1.32pm: Devon and Cornwall Police have posted an update on the flooding.

These are the main points:

• Rising river levels are causing fresh concern in Lostwithiel, Launceston Liskeard and Bude.
• Mevagissy and Lostwithiel remain impassable.
• One hundred homes in Mevagissy are being evacuated. Residents are being taken to a nearby rest centre at Polkyth Leisure Centre.
• Several bridges are closed including old bridge in Lostwhithel and Fletchers Bridge near Cardinham
• Seven primary schools closed: Fowey Junior and Infant school, Tywardreath, Mevagissey, Pondhu , Lanlivery,St Winnow C of E School, Lostwithiel and Doubletrees School.
• The railway between Liskeard and Lostwithiel has been closed as a result of a landslide. The Newquay branch line is also closed because of flooding and rock falls.

1.22pm: Locals described the chaos as water rushed down from the steep surrounding hillsides completely swamping the community, writes Cornish based reporter James Orr on the scene in Mevagissey.

Cars were left floating in the main square and most of the harbourside shops and businesses suffered flooding of up to five feet deep.

Katie Penny 24, manager of The Ship Inn, said: "I live above the pub and when I came down this morning it was just a scene of utter devastation.

"The bar was waste deep in muddy, brown water and chairs and stools were
floating around the pub.

"I knew the rain had been heavy overnight but I never expected this. I only took over the pub a month ago and who knows who long it will take to get it back on its feet."

Mevagissey's narrow, cobbled streets were strewn with debris from people's homes as locals began the clear up.

Sodden carpets, sacks of firewood and dozens of overturned refuse bins lay scattered in the streets.

And shop workers at the local Boots pharmacist looked on as prescription drugs, cosmetics and other items washed out of the store.

Kirsty Wakeham, who works at the shop, said: "We've had about three feet of water in here. It's horrific.

"The aisles are awash with items from the store and everything's soaking wet. We've got a maintenance crew coming down from head office but at the moment I'm just trying to stop people's prescriptions from floating out of the door."

12.56pm: David Cameron told the Commons that the government stands ready to help people in "any way we can".

Speaking at prime minister's questions he said:

I know that everyone is working around the clock to get this sorted. We have said we stand ready to help in any way we can. We have to remember when the flood waters actually start to recede, that is when many of the biggest problems begin, over insurance and getting people back into their homes, and we've got to make sure we help people in every way we can.

12.47pm: The bridge at Lostwithiel is in danger of collapse, says YouTube user MatConnolley with this video to back up the claim:

A good time to bring in the Institution of Civil Engineers. Its flooding expert David Balmfort emailed this:

Extreme events like this also serve as a reminder of how vulnerable our critical infrastructure is... It is vital that even in these austere times we continue to invest in protecting and maintaining critical infrastructure to reduce the risk of system failure and ensure we are better protected against future crises.

The situation in Cornwall is another reminder of how ill-prepared we are to deal with the increased risk of flooding in future. We need to urgently make our communities more flood resilient, adopting a preventative approach rather than the traditional and unsustainable 'defend at all odds' approach. In light of hefty cuts to Defra's budget, this will require innovative thinking about alternatives that deliver long-term, low cost solutions. There is no time for complacency, climate change means flooding is set to become more frequent in the future and with one in six homes at risk, we must be prepared to cope with it.

12.43pm: These floods come almost exactly a year after record breaking rainfall in Cumbria, our environment editor John Vidal reports.

The 316.4mm (12.45 inches) of rain that fell at Seathwaite Farm, Borrowdale, on November 19 last year was by some way Britain's heaviest recorded rainfall over 24 hours and statistically a once-in-1,800 year downpour, government scientists said today.

"It was very rare indeed, an extreme event of international significance", said Jamie Hannaford, a scientist at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. "What fell in 24 hours in the lake district then was about half what you get in a whole year at somewhere like Gatwick, near London".

New research into the frequency of such storms shows that the prolonged rain over northwest England and southern Scotland that week led to many rivers doubling their previous highest-ever peak flows. Records were set at 17 river monitoring stations.

12.39pm: The RNLI is sending volunteers and two inflatable rescue boats to Cornwall.

Members of the charity's specially trained Flood Rescue Team left the RNLI Headquarters in Poole, Dorset, at 10.30am this morning.

They are taking a D Class lifeboat and an Arancia rescue boat, both of which are small inflatable vessels regularly used in inland flooding situations.

12.31pm: Jane Barron, owner of Curio Corner, a gift shop in Mevagissey, says it is the worst flooding she has ever seen in the port.

"At the moment it looks like a war zone, all the stock has floated all over the place...at least half of it has gone... it got into our safe. It's horrible," she told me.

To hear the full Audioboo, turn off the auto-refresh button at the top of the page 12.09pm: The A38 is still blocked between junctions with the A30 and A390 due to flooding, says the Highways Agency. It is expected to open at 2pm.

12.00pm: Laura McKie has just passed through Cardinham, where there rain was heaviest. She says:

There is a crater in the road in Cardinham big enough to drive a car into. Huge lumps of tarmac have been just ripped off the road. There are stones, boulders, earth and abandoned vehicles all over the place.

Liz Catherine, another friend of Leo Hickman, has this from Lerryn:

The roads are very bad, just covered in gravel and mud. The river hasn't burst its banks here yet, but it is a mad, big brown torrent, and people are very anxious that it will burst at high tide.

11.46am: "I'm sick of the flooding," Malcolm Putko landlord of the Western Inn in St Austell told the Morning Advertiser.

The council just spent £35,000 on drainage here but it has been about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.

I don't usually get upset but the funds they have spent have not a made a difference and now there will be public spending cuts. Where does that leave us?

11.32am: Leo Hickman has another update from Lostwithiel.

Just got back from Lostwithiel. Just before I left I spoke to Lee Griffin, the fire service's station manager for East Cornwall who is overseeing their operation in the town. He said he'd just heard reports of two people trapped in a car at Golitha Falls/St Cleer.

Radio Cornwall are now reporting that helicopters have been scrambled to people trapped in a car at Siblyback Lake Reservoir, so assume it's the same incident.

11.26am: One hundred properties in the picture-postcard port of Mevagissey on the south coast of Cornwall are flooded, according to Cornwall Fire and Rescue. The flooding is 4ft high in parts of the town, it says.

Five people trapped in Portloe were being rescued earlier today.

11.18am: Twitter user luke_watts has posted a series of Twitpics of flood damage in Lostwithiel. It includes this one of sludge lapping the hems of wedding dresses in a bridal store in the town. Kate Middleton won't be going there (that's for you Halo572).

11.08am: It's not on the scale of Boscastle the Met Office told our west of England correspondent Steven Morris.

The Met Office is identifying Cardinham, near Bodmin, as the place which experienced the heaviest rain - 50mm with 18.8mm of that came in one hour shortly before dawn.

Spokeswoman Sarah Holland says it is wrong to compare it with the Boscastle flood of August 2004 when around 100mm of rain fell there within a few hours.

She added that Met Office issued warnings yesterday afternoon and evening.

11.02am: There's a good a collection of photos of the aftermath of the floods in Lostwithiel on the village's tourist site.

"Homes and businesses in the town were flooded along Quay Street, Church Lane and Queens Street, with some under 4 feet of water," it says.

10.48am: BBC Cornwall has set up a Ushahidi-style crowdmap to track reports of flood damage. Just a test report and a landslide in Luxulyan so far, but give it time.

10.44am: "Within three or four minutes it was knee high," Barry Green, owner of Lostwithiel Bakery, told PA.

It all kicked off at about 5.15am when I heard a bubbling outside in the drains. I had to quickly get the stock high up off the floor and call the flood lines to let them know we had a problem.

One minute it was just lapping at the front door with no problem and I was just lifting a few boxes then I opened the front door and it just came pouring through. The speed of it was very, very surprising.

One minute I was making bread the next I was wading waist high through muddy water.
We've had people coming in to help but it's pretty much destroyed the shop.

I managed to get the car out just in time It was like driving up a river.

10.38am: Heavy rain has also caused flooding in parts of Wales. Passengers were trapped in cars at Llangwm near Neyland, according to the BBC Wales.

Extreme weather warnings remains in place for most of Wales, as well three counties in Northern Ireland and south west Scotland.

10.30am: The Environment Agency insists that warnings were given. A spokesman said:

This is a serious incident and our thoughts are with those people whose homes have flooded.

The Environment Agency has deployed teams to check river flood defences and to assist emergency services with the recovery process.

The joint Environment Agency/Met Office Flood Forecasting Centre issued an extreme rainfall alert yesterday afternoon to give emergency responders and local authorities advance warning of the heavy rain overnight, which has mainly resulted in flooding from drains and surface water run-off.

10.18am: The Guardian's Leo Hickman just happens to live near Lostwithiel. He describes the "amazing scene" and the problems of getting his kids to school. "There was a huge Boscastle-type rush of water that came down a lane, which has moved cars, knocked over bricks walls and completely smashed into the area of Lostwithiel where all the traffic goes through," he says in this Audioboo interview.

To hear the full Audioboo, turn off the auto-refresh button at the top of the page 10.05am: YouTube user MatConnolley has posted a series of short clips of the aftermath of the floods in Lostwithiel.

This shows debris in Tanhouse Road, this the swollen river Fowey, yet more of that debris. And this shows road a blocked by mud and stones.

10.02am: The Met Office is warning of more rain in Cornwall and Devon. Its weather warning for the area says:

Persistent heavy rain on Wednesday will give accumulations of 30 mm or more quite widely with 50 mm or more locally on the slopes of south Devon and Cornwall.

The public are advised to take extra care and refer to the latest Environment Agency, Floodline, and Flood Warnings in force, and to refer to the Highways Agency for further advice regarding traffic disruption on motorways and trunk roads.

9.51am: More footage is of the flooding is emerging on YouTube. This video, uploaded about an hour ago, shows the view from a vulnerable-looking bridge in Altarnum, near Launceston.

9.44am: Nick Minter, who runs a management consultancy business based in Lostwithiel, tweeted this:

Lostwithiel flooding and landslides. The town has whole roads blocked by debris, walls have collapsed, cars moved. Chaos!

9.35am: Trains between Liskeard and Par have been suspended because of landslip, the train operator Great Western announced. There are report that landslip was at Luxulyan.

9.12am: Devon and Cornwall police say they are dealing with a "major flooding incident" after heavy rain overnight on the south coast of Cornwall.

Areas of St Austell and St Blazey are impassable and people have been trapped in their cars and homes, the force said.

Some of the worst flooding was in Lostwithiel where residents feared a Boscastle-style landslide.

Video footage shows the extent of the damage in the village.

Lostwithiel resident Derek Baynton said: "When I looked out of my window an hour ago I feared a Boscastle-type situation."

Speaking to BBC News he added: "The worst of the rain is over, but the water's still flowing down Quay Street in both directions."

The conditions have improved since dawn as the rain has cleared. A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: "Members of HM Coastguard and search and rescue helicopters were used throughout the night to monitor the situation but have since been stood down."

Several schools in the country have been closed. The Eden project, near St Austell, is among several venues that have also been forced to close. It was due to host a conference entitled "Empowering Smart Women" today. It has been cancelled, according to BBC Cornwall.

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