SOMERSET Council’s highways teams have been responding to incidents across the county following heavy rain overnight and during today (Monday, December 4).

They attended more than 40 incidents, many of them minor road closures due to flooding, as rain swept through the county.

More than 20 schools took the decision to close as a result of the bad weather and several libraries closed early.

At various stages several major roads needed to be closed due to flooding, including the A356 between the A303 and Crewkerne, the A358 at Donyatt, the B3227 at Norton Fitzwarren, A361 Greinton and B3168 Puckington/Curry Rivel.

Jetting contractors were redeployed from planned works to respond to flood-related incidents.

The council has been working with partner agencies to monitor the situation and will continue to do so with further rain forecast for later in the week, along with strong winds.

The public is asked to monitor Environment Agency flood warnings and alerts, taking precautionary steps where needed. For the latest information check for flooding online information.

Drivers are reminded to never drive through floodwater.

Problems on the roads can be reported online to 'Report a problem on the road' (somerset.gov.uk).

There have been reports of around 20 properties having some kind of flooding during the day, scattered across the county.

It is anticipated that several hundred recycling and refuse collections may be missed today as a result of road closures, notably in the Yeovil and Crewkerne areas.

There may be further disruption tomorrow if roads remain closed. Crews will return for missed collections as soon as possible. Recycling site opening was unaffected by the weather.

For information and advice on preparing for flooding and coping if you have experienced flooding you can visit somerset.gov.uk/flooding