A staff member has confirmed Waitrose in Wallingford will be "open as normal" today (August 2) after it was forced to closed on Thursday evening (August 1) due to severe flooding.

On Thursday a staff member at Waitrose told the Oxford Mail the store had closed due to a "catastrophic leak". 

Heavy rainfall caused flooding on roads in Wallingford and caused the Waitrose supermarket in St Martin's Street to close for the night.

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(Image: Amanda Absolom)

This came as a yellow warning for thunderstorms covering the majority of England and Wales was in place until midnight on Thursday. 

Drivers across the UK were warned to brace for spray, sudden flooding and road closures as thunderstorms were expected to sweep across parts of the nation.

Benson Lock near Wallingford recorded 30mm of rainfall in an hour.

Other businesses in the town were also affected by the heavy downpour, including the Kinecroft Academy of Dance and the Cross Keys pub on the High Street.

One Wallingford householder, who asked not to be named, said: "It’s not just Waitrose that’s flooded. Quite a few businesses have. 

"Many are having to close early today. Restaurants and pubs are closing tonight to clear up and are hoping to open tomorrow morning providing there are no more heavy downpours."

The Cross Keys pub posted a statement informing punters that a quiz night had to be cancelled due to the weather. 

This said: "No quiz tonight I'm afraid as we deal with the pub being underwater." 

The Didcot and Wantage Conservatives group stated: "Hope everything is OK in Wallingford which was hit by flooding this afternoon because of the rain."

Following reports of the flooding, motorist Makayla Jones warned: "It is bad out there. The road from Benson to the roundabout going to Woodcote and in Cholsey, it's literally like driving through a river."

By Thursday evening, a total of 26 flood alerts were issued nationally by the Environment Agency.

Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said: “There’s been very humid air which is why it’s felt so close and muggy as well.

“The same air has been over northern France for the last day or two as well – so those heavy thundery showers that they had during the triathlon yesterday morning.

“So basically, we’ve been getting the same sort of weather as the Olympics have.”