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Dozens of homes have been damaged by flood water as the Met Office issued warnings for thunderstorms and heavy rain after most of England and the whole of Wales was declared in drought.

The Met Office said thundery showers across England and Wales could cause 75mm of rain in just 12 hours in some areas after a summer that saw five heatwaves hit the UK.

Forty flood alerts, where flooding is possible, were issued by the Environment Agency (EA) across the Midlands, Yorkshire and the south-east on Thursday morning.

A flood alert has also been issued for the River Maun at Edwinstowe and Ollerton in Nottinghamshire.

The EA said river levels at Mansfield The Dykes gauging station were rising rapidly due to the nature of the catchment, adding that Old Rufford Road was most at risk.

A yellow thunderstorm warning for parts of the Midlands, east of England, south of England, the north-west, Yorkshire and Humber and Wales is in place until 10pm on Thursday.

A second yellow warning for Lincolnshire, parts of the east of England, parts of Yorkshire, Kent and Medway will be in place from 5pm on Thursday to 7am on Friday.

Climate scientists have repeatedly warned that global heating is causing more volatile weather patterns in the UK, with intense heatwaves, droughts, flooding and storms.

A Birmingham man, whose property was damaged in the thunderstorms on Wednesday night, described seeing a “river coming around the corner” before his home was flooded.

Areas of Birmingham saw “significant flooding” on Wednesday after the EA issued a flood warning for the Perry Barr area. Staffordshire, where a lower level flood alert is in place, has seen 60mm of rainfall in the last 12 hours, according to the Environment Agency.

Seven fire engines attended the scene on Wednesday evening, after the West Midlands fire service were alerted to flooding at 32 properties near the Tame Valley canal.

Ryan Goodwin lives on one of the affected streets and said his conservatory was flooded with three feet (1 metre) of water and his living room was damaged.

He said: “About 7.30pm I got home, I was in the car with the kids and I thought I don’t want to get out yet, there’s too many puddles here.

“Then in a matter of about half-an-hour, it was just a river coming round the corner, all the way down the road.”

He described the damage to his home to the Press Association: “It’s gone under the laminate flooring in the front room. The conservatory got flooded, the electrics went off.

“The conservatory had about three foot of water, luckily that is below the house level.

“The neighbours’ carpet and sofa and everything got wet as well. Down the road, they have two hills running into the corner, it was halfway up their doors, so I think we got a bit lucky here, really.”

Goodwin, who lives near the M6, said he was not sure how long it would take to repair his home, adding: “I’m just trying to get everything out that is wet and speak to the insurance at the moment.

“All the water comes off the motorway as well. It has been so dry for so long, all the leaves had blocked the drains and everything.

“Hopefully it doesn’t happen again.”

Goodwin’s father-in-law, Jay Patel, said: “(The water) was really, really fast. I couldn’t believe how fast it was.”

The EA said after a National Drought Group meeting on Thursday morning, 71.3% of England remains in drought. It said August so far has received only 34% of the expected rainfall.

Chief executive of the EA, Philip Duffy, said: “A few days or even weeks of wetter weather cannot reverse the impacts of several months of exceptionally dry conditions.

“Today’s yellow thunderstorm warnings show it’s possible to experience simultaneous drought and flood as heavy rain falls on compacted soils.”