MOTORISTS are being urged to take extra care on motorways over the next 24 hours following a forecast of persistent and heavy rain from the Met Office.

An amber weather warning, with flooding and disruption likely in places, covers parts of the north west for tonight, Wednesday, until tomorrow evening, when the weather is expected to be more showery.

The Met Office is warning that the heavy rain could lead to spray and difficult driving conditions.

National Highways is advising anyone using motorways and major A roads to drive to conditions and take extra precautions in heavy rain.

These include cutting speed, driving with dipped headlights and keeping a safe distance from other vehicles, leaving extra room for braking.

National Highways’ around-the-clock regional operations centre near Warrington and its operational control centre at Penrith will be closely monitoring conditions along sections of its roads, including the M6.

National Highways traffic officers and maintenance teams at depots will be on standby tonight and tomorrow to respond to any rain-related incidents.

Full advice, including precautions for driving in heavy rain and the measures National Highways will be taking to manage any incidents, can be found at highwaysengland.co.uk/road-safety/travelling-in-severe-weather/travelling-when-it-s-raining/

Drivers are also being advised to pay attention to messages on overhead electronic signs, to listen for radio updates, and check weather and traffic conditions before setting out on journeys.

Met Office updates are available at metoffice.gov.uk with live traffic information at trafficengland.com and regular updates on Twitter from @HighwaysNWEST.