FORECASTERS have raised weather warnings over a spell of heavy rain set to hit the North West on Sunday.

The Met Office has warned that flooding could be possible with some transport set to be disrupted in the worst affected areas.

Bolton, Bury, Oldham and other parts of Greater Manchester fall under the alert, which takes up an area from South East England up to Central Scotland.

Journey times by road and public transport are likely to be increased and there is a possibility of disruption to power supplies.

The Met Office also warns that flooding of some homes is "likely".

These heavy showers will then continue until noon, with more rain expected later in the day.

The Environment Agency has also sent out specific warnings for parts of Horwich, with concern that local rivers could overflow.

An agency spokesman said: "River levels are forecast to rise at the Wigan river gauge in the early hours of October 6 as a result of heavy rainfall. Areas at risk include low lying land and roads in Horwich, Adlington, Wigan, Appley Bridge and Skelmersdale.

"High river levels are possible on the River Douglas, Pearl Brook, River Tawd, Eller Brook and their tributaries.

"We are closely monitoring the situation. Our incident response staff are checking defences. Please avoid using low lying footpaths near local watercourses."