UK weather recap: Hundreds of homes will be flooded over the next two days, Environment Agency warns

The Government says tonight it will subsidise flights out of a Cornish airport to help maintain transport links with the flood-hit county.

The Prime Minister has announced a £5 reduction in the cost of tickets for domestic flights from Newquay, with the Government effectively paying the airport development levy usually imposed on departing passengers.

The saving will be delivered through a Government grant to the airport’s owner Cornwall Council and will take effect from Wednesday for at least two weeks.

The damage to the train line at Dawlish, which cut rail links between London and Cornwall, could take up to six weeks to repair, Network Rail has said.

Additional flights between Newquay and Gatwick have been scheduled by Flybe over the next fortnight, with a larger aircraft also being deployed.

Flybe will double the number of weekday flights it offers between Newquay and Gatwick from three services a day to six during an initial two-week period whilst demand for the new schedule is monitored and assessed, the airline said.