A Spanish professional baker who came to the UK for a cake show says he is afraid to find his house destroyed when he returns home.

Catalina Anghel lives near Valencia, where flash floods destroyed cars and caused debris to pile up in the streets.

Authorities say at least 158 ​​people have died in the country including an Englishman.

“Very difficult. I have many friends in flooded areas,” Ms. Anghel said.

“I have a friend, he lost everything. He was in the car when the flood came, he ran to escape, climbed a tree, it’s hard to explain.”

Ms Anghel took one of the last trains out of Valencia on Thursday to fly to Birmingham for Cake International at the National Exhibition Center (NEC).

He told BBC Radio WM his area was on red alert and he was worried he wouldn’t be able to fly home on Sunday.

She added that her husband and son were still at home and everyone she knew was affected.

But Ms Anghel added that she felt she had to come to the UK because the event was such a big part of her baking calendar and was something she attended every year.

“They have no food, no water, no electricity, and they can’t leave their homes,” he said.

“They lost their cars, their jobs, everything. It’s terrible. I don’t know when this will get better.”

Cayetana Belda Marti lives in Coventry but went to university in Valencia and her brother and sister still live there.

“They say everything is ruined right now and thank God they are okay. It’s hard because I can’t do anything from here,” he said.

It is feared that the death toll may increase in the coming days as many people are missing in the affected areas.

More than a year’s worth of rain fell on the region in just eight hours on Tuesday.

meteorologists I believe the extreme weather conditions are partly due to the Dana phenomenon – The cold air pool interacts with the low pressure area, creating an extremely unstable atmospheric environment.

While research suggests that Dana events occur many times each year in the Western Mediterranean, the intensity of such rainfall events appears to be increasing due to climate change.