Heavy showers are forecast right through the weekend across a band of central Europe from France to Ukraine, with as much as 50mm (2in) of rain falling in some parts in just a few hours.

Thousands were evacuated in France and thousands of emergency call-outs made.

Some parts of central France have seen their worst floods in over a century. The body of an elderly woman was found in her flooded home.

There are fears that more heavy downpours forecast across a swathe of Europe may worsen floods that have already left five people dead.

Four people drowned in southern Germany, with two more missing and thousands of homes without electricity.