The south west of England was hit by extensive flash flooding, as torrential rain hit the region and 68 flood warnings were issued.
Dual carriageways in both Devon and Somerset were under up to 18in (46cm) of water, with trees down and people trapped in their cars.
Officers in the region answered 300 calls overnight and this morning, including 20 rescues from cars, and two dozen reports of minor house flooding, said Norman Evans, of Devon Fire and Rescue.
Mr Evans urged motorists to travel only if the trip was absolutely necessary.
Road conditions were "very, very poor", he added.
The torrential rain moved from Devon to Somerset and towards the Dorset-Wiltshire border, and the worst affected areas were Chard, Ilminster, Shepton Mallet, Glastonbury and Street.
The Environment Agency had 68 flood warnings in place for the South West this morning. One severe warning was in place on the River Lyd, near Lydney in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire.
Mr Evans said conditions were set to improve this afternoon but warned drivers that even their usual routes could be treacherous.
He said: "Rain came into Devon just after midnight. It travelled through into Somerset around 4am.
"It is now moving off into Dorset and Wiltshire. There is still extensive road flooding and there's a lot of sludge and debris from high winds. Trees are down.
"There's a lot of mud off the fields and that in turn has caused a lot of accidents.
"Thankfully, the house flooding is not of the 2ft, 3ft and 4ft depth we saw in Gloucestershire last summer."
No-one deaths or injuries have been reported.
PA