Britain can expect more 'monsoon style' floods in the future due to climate change, according to experts.

The Royal Academy of Engineers said torrential downpours, like those experienced in tropical countries, have already been seen in the last few years in Boscastle, Morpeth, Tewkesbury and Crewkerne.

As temperatures rise due to global warming the UK will have to be prepared for 'monsoon style' storms by building open drainage ditches beside urban roads, pourous pavements and storing water in reservoirs under car parks.

Lord Smith, Chairman of the Environment Agency, said Britain is experiencing a "new kind of rain" in the summer that is putting cities at increasing risk, especially London.

"We’ve been familiar for centuries with rain that comes marching across the country in a curtain, usually from the west, with relatively predictable consequences for everything in its path. That will continue to be the case. But now we are having to come to terms – as well – with rain that falls in huge quantities, all at once, in one place. Lots of it, in a defined area, falling as a deluge. And with climate change, we are likely to see this happening with increasing frequency.".