Oxfordshire schools close as heavy rain causes flooding

A handful of schools have been forced to close in Oxfordshire after heavy rain caused flooding.

The schools closed include Warriner School in Bloxham, St Joseph's Catholic Primary and Lord Williams's School in Thame, and Frank Wise School in Banbury.

A night and morning of persistent heavy rain has also caused drains to back up.

An amber weather warning has been issued for central and southern England, including Oxfordshire, by the Met Office.

The warning for rain is in place until 21:00 BST.

Affected areas could see more than a month's worth of rain falling on Monday.

The flooded schools said pupils had been set remote learning and urged parents and carers to check their websites for updates.

Lord Williams School in Thame said a Geography trip to Birmingham had also been cancelled.

In Banbury, Frank Wise School said it was "working to try and reopen" and hoped to contact staff and families later on Monday to advise whether the closure would continue in to Tuesday.

Oxford Bus Company has also been forced to divert buses on some routes due to the "increasingly difficult weather conditions".

The bus operator said many services were also experiencing delays in excess of 30 minutes.