THE Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for Herefordshire as heavy rain and strong 50mph winds are set to hit the county.

A brief spell of heavy rain and strong, gusty winds are expected to hit the south coast, South West, Wales and parts of the Midlands on Thursday, the Met Office said.

This could cause transport disruption and flooding, forecasters warned.

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The yellow weather warning for rain and wind, which will be in force from 10am until 7pm, means spray and flooding is likely on the roads, delays to public transport, delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges and flooding of a few homes and businesses.

Forecasters said the warning, which covers Herefordshire and much of Worcestershire, had been issued with a narrow band of rain, heavy at times and perhaps briefly intense, will move eastwards late on Thursday morning and into the afternoon.

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Between 10mm and 15mm of rain is likely to fall in a one to two-hour period, with around 20mm in a few places, they said.

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"With saturated ground, this is likely to lead to a fair amount of surface water on roads and flooding in one or two places," they added, with the Environment Agency already issuing a flood alert for the river Lugg south of Leominster.

They said strong winds will be an additional hazard with gusts of 40mph to 50mph inland and perhaps briefly 60mph to 70mph along some exposed coasts, especially in Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, Gwynedd and Anglesey.