Tayside Police said they had received at least three reports of cars getting into difficulty as a result of drivers attempting to plough through deep water, causing engines to fail.

BBC: Torrential rain warning for east of Scotland

He smiles as we encounter what he terms 'a Balinese tractor': another farmer, this time attempting to guide two small chestnut-brown cows and a plough through freshly harvested land, knee-deep in mud and water.

BBC: High spirits in Bali

David Landes's grand backward look at the world explains its development not just through concepts like property rights and industrial innovation, but also through inventions like the plough, the windmill and eyeglasses.

ECONOMIST: General non-fiction

"What we've found is that some of what we do to the land - we plough the fields and we add fertiliser - doesn't go through to the river for decades, " said Dr Howden.

BBC: Thames archive reveals long nitrate rise