Hundreds of motorway drivers were left stranded across Britian as torrential rain flooded roads, police said. Desperate motorists, who had set out despite warnings not to travel as extreme weather swept parts of the country, had to seek refuge in emergency centres.
The worst hit area was the M5 in Worcester, which was at a standstill for most of the night, a spokeswoman for the Central Motorway Police Group said.
By Saturday morning Strensham Services on the southbound carriageway had run out of petrol and diesel, leaving motorists with more problems.
Huge queues built up on the motorway, caused by a combination of flooding and abandoned cars on what is traditionally a busy traffic day with the start of the family holiday season.
A spokesman for West Mercia Police said the force had received around 1,500 emergency calls in the last 24 hours, compared with a normal average of 900.
Many roads in and out of Worcester are impassable, causing "considerable disruption" across the county, he said.
Hereford Fire and Rescue Service has also received an unprecedented level of calls and has carried out around 300 rescues from homes and caravan parks.
In Gloucestershire around 2,000 people spent the night in emergency shelters after being forced from their cars or homes due to the flooding.
Rest centres were set up in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, Chipping Campden and Moreton-in-marsh.