By Steven Morris, Leo Hickman and Matthew Weaver, guardian.co.uk, 25 Nov 2012

More than 800 homes and business premises were contending with flooding on Sunday night after more rain caused havoc across a swath of Britain, forcing the government to defend the work it has done to protect at-risk areas.

David Cameron promised to help communities in the south-west of England and the Midlands that have been devastated after more than a month's worth of rain fell within four days. [....]

But the government and the Environment Agency said most new defences, many introduced since the great floods of 2007, were working well and had protected more than 24,000 homes across England and Wales.

They will be tested again in the coming days. More rain is expected for [....]

Also see:

In pictures: storms and floods across the UK

And:

Flooding: 'Quiz night on Tuesday is cancelled' Leo Hickman reports from Polperro on the aftermath of the torrential storms that swept through Cornwall