A FLOOD alert has been put in place for areas around the middle River Roding.

The Environment Agency issued the alert for Loughton, Buckhurst Hill and Abridge yesterday (July 8).

A statement released by the agency on its website this morning (July 9) said river levels in the area remained high, but were beginning to fall slowly and would continue to fall throughout the day.

It continued: "Today will start cloudy but dry, with sharp showers developing during the afternoon but these are not expected to cause river levels to rise again.

"Any standing water may remain for a few days and the catchment remain sensitive to further significant rainfall."

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service yesterday received around 50 flood related calls (July 8) and attended 30 flooding incidents.