AFTER basking in blistering weekend temperatures, the region was last night placed on flood alert.

The heatwave which saw temperatures reaching 30 degrees is set to come to an abrupt end with storms and flash flooding being forecast as the North-East braces itself for a dramatic drenching.

Over the next 24 to 36 hours, a band of heavy rain is expected to be moving across the length of the country from the Isle of Wight, through central England and up to southern Scotland in a repeat of the downpours that caused chaos last week.

But it is the North-East that looks likely to be hardest hit, with a spokesman for the Met Office predicting the bad weather, which has been in the Midlands overnight, hitting the region over the coming 36 hours.

He said: "We are expecting the stormy conditions will lead to localised flooding throughout the region."

Jeremy Plester, at the PA WeatherCentre, said: "There is an area of potentially very wet weather moving across parts of the West Country, and just reaching the south- west coast of Scotland."

He warned that some areas could see up to an inch of rain fall in an hour, leading to further localised flash flooding.

"There will be intense showers and there is potential for some flooding around, like we saw last week, which will be localised. It will not be as thundery as it has been, but there will still be some cracks of thunder."

He confirmed that hardest hit would be areas of the North-East, southern Scotland, and parts of Lincolnshire.

A spokesman for the RAC warned North-East drivers to be vigilant.

"Conditions will change very rapidly, leaving surface water on roads," he said. "We are warning drivers to take care, slow down and put on car headlights."

The unsettled weather is likely to continue through the week, with heavy showers.

The conditions are expected to be similar to last week, when storms caused chaos across the country, particularly in the Midlands and west London. Flash flooding brought traffic and the Underground to a standstill.

The spokesman for the Met office said it was expected that the downpours would continue for 48 hours.

It could be well into the week before the weather starts to improve, he said.