More localised flooding could hit parts of southern and eastern England and Wales as another band of heavy rain sweeps in, the Environment Agency has warned.

The agency said the wettest April on record, which caused flooding in some areas last week, had left rivers high and soils saturated, and rain expected to spread across England and Wales in the next 24 hours could lead to localised flooding.

Forecasters say spells of persistent and heavy rain are expected, accompanied by winds of up to 50mph in some areas.

Hundreds of pleasure boats equipped with sophisticated miniature environmental sensors forming a monitoring network transmitting real-time data on the state of the oceans and coasts to scientists might sound like a sci-fi scenario, but it is actually the brain child of an international initiative with an exotic name, YachtGOOS.

YachtGOOS is a recreational Global Ocean Observing System involving yachtsmen and women in a number of countries. It enables real-time, automated monitoring of the marine environment and covers diverse regions of the coastal and open ocean, leading the way in the use of state-of-the-art technology and environmental policy.

On Tuesday 24 April, volunteers will be helping the Environment Agency and Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust with landscaping works on the River Chelt in Priors Norton, Gloucestershire.

Over the coming weeks the area will be landscaped, attracting more wildlife such as birds, bats, dragonflies and eels. Surplus wetland plants from the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust’s Coombe Hill nature reserve and a section of the Stroudwater Navigation at Wallbridge, are being rehomed, thanks to volunteers. These local reeds, flag iris and purple loosetrife will give natural colonisation a helping hand.

The Environment Agency has declared official drought zones in a further 17 English counties and said the shortages could last until Christmas or beyond.

Environmental experts said dry weather over the past few months had left some rivers in England exceptionally low and had now extended the country's "drought map" into the Midlands and the South West.

Environment Agency officials stress that public water supplies are unlikely to be affected by the ongoing drought, but are reiterating calls from consumers to combat the dry conditions by using scarce water wisely.