A FLOOD alert has been put in place for East Lancashire by The Environment Agency.

The alert for the River Calder, and Pendle Water catchments, including Trawden, Barrowford, Nelson, Colne, Burnley, Padiham, Accrington and Whalley, warn that flooding is possible and residents are warned to be prepared.

With Storm Dennis hitting the county this evening and peaking at 8am tomorrow, the Environment Agency says its incident response staff are monitoring the situation and liaising with the emergency services.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: "River levels are forecast to rise at the Oxford Road river gauge as a result of Storm Dennis, forecast to peak around 8am Sunday, February 16.

"Consequently, there is a risk of flooding from rivers and surface water. Low lying land and roads in the Trawden, Barrowford, Nelson, Colne, Burnley, Padiham, Accrington and Whalley areas.

High river levels are possible on the Rivers Calder, Brun, Don, Hyndburn and Pendle Water and their tributaries. Heavy rainfall is expected throughout the evening and will continue until Sunday morning. We are closely monitoring the situation. Our incident response staff are liaising with emergency services.

"Temporary flood defences have been deployed at Billington and Ribchester."

Meanwhile police are urging motorists to slow down on the roads this evening after a spike in crashes due to hazardous driving conditions.

A police spokesman Tweeted: "As #StormDennis grips Lancashire there is a lot of surface water on our roads, this has caused accidents around the county that is putting more demand on our officers. We're appealing to everyone, is your journey essential? Remember #DriveToArrive."