Heavy overnight rain has again brought severe flooding and chaos to roads across south Essex.

In a week beset by setbacks, travellers faced a double-edged sword with chaos on the A13 and A127 and continued disruption to rail services between the Southend Victoria and Liverpool Street stations.

Flooding blackspots in Southend included North Shoebury Road in Shoebury, and the A127 at the junction with St Michael's Road at Rayleigh.

The slip road to the A127 from the M25 was one of dozens closed off today (Thursday) as the floods took their toll. Police were also considering closing the London-bound carriagway on the A127 which was gridlocked due to flooding.

Several roads on Canvey have also been reported as passable with extreme caution including Western Esplanade and Furtherwick Road. One enterprising lorry driver made good from the situation and gave drivers who had become stuck in floodwaters on Harding Elms Road at Crays Hill a helping hand - for £10 a time.

Southend councillor Stephen Aylen (Con, Belfairs Ward), called for a long-term solution in the face of the disruption caused by the floods.

Train travellers were dealt another blow as it became clear that the landslip on the Southend Victoria to London line would not be cleared by the mid-week estimate that rail operator First Great Eastern was hoping for.

A spokeswoman said: "We will be having delays up until Saturday of up to half-an-hour.

"We are trying to work to a regular timetable at the moment, but we may have to bring in an emergency timetable."

For more on this story see today's Evening Echo

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