Police have issued a warning to drivers in the wet weather after one person “miraculously” avoided serious injuries during a “horrifying” crash.

Surrey Police shared pictures of a wrecked Volkswagen hatchback which aquaplaned off the A3 dual carriageway during a downpour.

Large swathes of Britain have been battered with rain throughout the day – with parts of England seeing up to 52mm of rain.

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Motorists in London were left stuck when a build up of water around Tower Bridge caused flooding in the east of the capital.

Yellow weather warnings from the Met Office remained in place for most of England east of Birmingham and south of the Pennines.

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Only one flood warning was issued by the Environment Agency in England, for a small area north of Cambridge around the Oakington and Beck brooks.

The Met Office cautioned that rainfall could lead to “spray and flooding on roads”, as well as the “flooding of a few homes and businesses” being possible.

Heavy #rain has continued across the east of England this afternoon 🌧️ though this is now starting to ease

Check out the radar and the highest rainfall totals recorded since 6 am today 👇 pic.twitter.com/Y5x1ImiJlf

Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said the rain is due to ease off tomorrow.

It comes following a warmer than typical September – and Ms Shuttleworth predicts temperatures will remain above average over the rest of the month.

In a social media post about the crash in their county, Surrey Police warned people to drive carefully.

They said: “Well this morning our roads policing unit officers attended a horrifying one vehicle crash on the A3 near Claygate in Esher, after a driver lost control of his vehicle on a standing body of water and aquaplaned off the road into a ditch.

“Miraculously the driver of this vehicle only received minor injuries, but it easily could have been a different story.”

It added: “PLEASE take extra care when driving on wet roads or in rainy weather.

“Aquaplaning is a very real risk and can have fatal consequences. In rainy conditions remember to be extra vigilant, drive at a slower speed, keep an extra-long braking space between you and other vehicles and use your headlights and wipers.”

The AA explained that aquaplaning is when “water builds up in front of your tyres faster than the weight of your car can displace it”.

The water is forced below the tyres, creating a layer of water between the tyres and the road, meaning a driver wouldn’t be able to effectively steer, brake or accelerate.

Signs you are aquaplaning include “the engine suddenly getting louder or the steering suddenly going ‘light'”.

In order to help prevent aquaplaning, travelling slowly, correct tyre pressure and tread depth, avoiding hard braking and staying away from large areas of water are all advised.

If you do aquaplane, the AA says to avoid slamming on the breaks, and rather to ease off the accelerator pedal while holding the steering straight until you regain control of the vehicle.

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