A yellow weather warning is in place across the North East amid warnings of flooding as heavy rain batters the region.

The Met Office has issued the warning to cover the whole of the North East and North Yorkshire today (Thursday, November 17).

The forecaster says a spell of persistent, and at times heavy rainfall will develop throughout today and into Friday, leading to a risk of flooding.

It warns there is a chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings.

Spray and flooding are likely to lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures are likely.

The weather may have played a factor in several crashes and incidents across the region's roads this morning, with accidents on the A19 and A174 in Middlesbrough causing major rush hour delays.

Read more: North East weather LIVE: Met Office issues warning for region - updates

The Met Office says there's a risk that flooding could cause delays or cancellations to train and bus services in the region and some areas may be temporarily cut off by flooded roads.

Scotland is expected to be particularly hard hit, with the Met Office upgrading its yellow warning to an amber alert in North East Scotland, covering just north of Dundee to north of Aberdeen.

In North Yorkshire and North East England, the yellow weather warning stays in place for tomorrow (Friday, November 18) as the rain is set to continue throughout Friday.

Read next:

If you want to read more great stories, why not subscribe to your Northern Echo for as little as £1.25 a week. Click here