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BHazard risk Grade
Flood & hazards in Wigston · Environment Agency

In Wigston, heavy rain puts more homes at risk than rivers or the sea: 6.6%, against under 0.1%

On the Environment Agency’s maps, which allow for flood defences, “high or medium” means at least a 1 in 100 chance of flooding from rivers or the sea in any year. Wigston grades B for hazard risk: #23 of 50 in Leicestershire.

3flood warnings since 200699%in a radon Affected Area
In brief

What stands out about Wigston’s hazards

From the Environment Agency’s maps and records and the BGS radon atlas, below.

Rain, more than the river6.6% of homes sit where heavy rain can flood the streets, against under 0.1% at risk from rivers and the sea.The River Sence ran its highest in January 20253.65 m at South Wigston on 6 January 2025, 0 cm under the record set in 2025.3 flood warnings since 2006For the parts of Wigston the Environment Agency warns directly; the most recent on 24 December 2012.
By hazard

What Wigston faces

Each hazard against its own yardstick; meters run from low to high on that yardstick.

Rivers and the sea

under 0.1%of homes at high or medium risk
Fewer than the typical UK town · more than 37% of towns
23 homes by the EA’s own count

Surface water

6.6%of homes at high or medium risk
More than 81% of UK towns
About 980 households

Past floods

1years with a recorded flood
Last recorded: January 1947
2 households inside past outlines

The River Sence

2.77 mhighest in winter 2025–26 at South Wigston
2nd-highest of 35 winters
Record 3.65 m, January 2025

Flood warnings

3flood warnings since 2006
166 flood alerts for the wider area
Last warning 24 December 2012

Radon

99%of the town in a radon Affected Area
Highest band here: 3–5% of homes
No square of 5% or more
Not on this page: coastal erosion, subsidence and shrink-swell ground (the British Geological Survey licenses it), groundwater flooding and reservoir failure.
Hazard risk Grade

Wigston grades B for hazard risk

Flood risk from rivers and the sea, against all UK towns.

Homes at high or medium flood risk (under 0.1%)Fewer than 62% of UK towns

The share of homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea, ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more: fewer homes at risk is better. Towns with none at high or medium risk are ordered by their share at low risk, so they don’t all share one score. Surface water and radon aren’t graded: they are described below.

Flood map

Where the water goes in Wigston

Turn layers on and off. Blue is the risk from rivers and the sea; pink is where heavy rain collects. Both allow for flood defences.

River Sence: 1947© OpenStreetMap contributors · EA NaFRA2
HighMediumLowrivers & seaHighMediumLowsurface waterWigston’s built-up area

The river and sea risk follows the River Sence, the Willow Brook and the Evington Brook. Surface-water risk is spread across the town, in dips, underpasses and along small streams, which is why more homes are exposed to it.

Rivers and the sea

Under 0.1% of Wigston’s homes are at high or medium risk from rivers or the sea

The Environment Agency’s national map, allowing for defences. A further 0.3% are at low risk.

High risk0%of homes · 1 in 30 a year or more15 homes, EA count
Medium riskunder 0.1%of homes · 1 in 30 to 1 in 1008 homes, EA count
Low risk0.3%of homes · 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,00054 homes, EA count
Where Wigston sits among 3,735 UK towns
35%None
23%Under 0.5%Wigston
9%0.5–1%
11%1–2%
11%2–5%
5%5–10%
3%10–20%
2%20% +

Share of each UK town’s homes at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. 35% of UK towns have none; Wigston has more than 37% of towns.

Towns its size: 34th of 215 from the fewest homes at risk
#TownPeopleHigh or med.
1Ashton-under-Lyne Greater Manchester48,5950%
2Grays Essex44,3400%
3Borehamwood Hertfordshire39,7600%
…
32Prescot Merseyside39,227under 0.1%
33Rowley Regis West Midlands39,052under 0.1%
34Wigston Leicestershire34,728under 0.1%
35Burgess Hill West Sussex33,352under 0.1%
36Winsford Cheshire32,522under 0.1%
…
214Wisbech Cambridgeshire26,80043%
215Spalding Lincolnshire30,55284%

UK towns of 24,000 to 49,000 people.

The Environment Agency’s Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea (NaFRA2, June 2026) counts each postcode’s homes by band; the shares weight those postcodes by Census 2021 households. The EA counts include homes built since 2021.

Surface water

6.6% of Wigston’s homes are at high or medium risk from surface water

Surface water is rain that falls faster than drains and the ground can take it. It is mapped separately from rivers and the sea, and it is not in the Hazard risk Grade.

Surface water6.6%
Rivers and the seaunder 0.1%
0%10.5%21% of homes

About 3.6% of homes are at high risk of surface-water flooding (a 1 in 30 chance or more each year) and 3% at medium risk: roughly 980 households. A further 8.5% face a low risk from surface water. That is more than 81% of UK towns.

~980
households at high or medium risk
8.5%
of homes at low risk
81%
of UK towns have a smaller share
17,656
addresses read on the map

Our estimate: every address in the town (ONS NSUL) read on the Environment Agency’s Risk of Flooding from Surface Water map (NaFRA2, 2025), each postcode’s share weighted by its Census 2021 households. Neither agency publishes a count of homes for surface water, so treat it as a guide; one street can differ from the next.

Flood history

Wigston has flooded in 1 recorded year since 1947

Every flood the Environment Agency has mapped inside Wigston’s built-up area, newest first. The record is fullest for big river floods; small and surface-water floods are often missing.

  1. 1947January 1947: The River Sence overflowedUnder 1 hectare inside today’s built-up area

2 of Wigston’s households today live inside the outline of a recorded flood.

River levels

The River Sence in January 2025 rose to its highest level since 1990

The highest level each winter (October to September) at the Environment Agency’s South Wigston gauge, since 1990. The river normally runs between 0.60 m and 1.61 m here.

Highest level each winter, metres
Winter 1990–91: highest 2.42 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 1991–92: highest 2.70 m · 8 days above the normal rangeWinter 1992–93: highest 2.70 m · 19 days above the normal rangeWinter 1993–94: highest 2.55 m · 16 days above the normal rangeWinter 1994–95: highest 2.64 m · 12 days above the normal rangeWinter 1995–96: highest 1.73 m · 3 days above the normal rangeWinter 1996–97: highest 1.66 m · 1 days above the normal rangeWinter 1997–98: highest 2.60 m · 10 days above the normal rangeWinter 1998–99: highest 2.53 m · 13 days above the normal rangeWinter 1999–00: highest 2.24 m · 11 days above the normal rangeWinter 2000–01: highest 2.74 m · 28 days above the normal rangeWinter 2001–02: highest 2.65 m · 6 days above the normal rangeWinter 2002–03: highest 2.55 m · 18 days above the normal rangeWinter 2003–04: highest 2.08 m · 6 days above the normal rangeWinter 2004–05: highest 1.95 m · 6 days above the normal rangeWinter 2005–06: highest 2.15 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 2006–07: highest 2.67 m · 27 days above the normal rangeWinter 2007–08: highest 2.65 m · 7 days above the normal rangeWinter 2008–09: highest 2.15 m · 9 days above the normal rangeWinter 2009–10: highest 1.94 m · 4 days above the normal rangeWinter 2010–11: highest 1.80 m · 2 days above the normal rangeWinter 2011–12: highest 2.52 m · 12 days above the normal rangeWinter 2012–13: highest 2.76 m · 29 days above the normal rangeWinter 2013–14: highest 2.62 m · 20 days above the normal rangeWinter 2014–15: highest 1.79 m · 5 days above the normal rangeWinter 2015–16: highest 2.77 m on 9 March 2016 · 14 days above the normal rangeWinter 2016–17: highest 2.58 m · 7 days above the normal rangeWinter 2017–18: highest 2.58 m · 17 days above the normal rangeWinter 2018–19: highest 2.27 m · 14 days above the normal rangeWinter 2019–20: highest 2.76 m on 15 October 2019 · 40 days above the normal rangeWinter 2020–21: highest 2.68 m · 41 days above the normal rangeWinter 2021–22: highest 2.39 m · 14 days above the normal rangeWinter 2022–23: highest 2.43 m · 33 days above the normal rangeWinter 2023–24: highest 3.21 m on 2 January 2024 · 68 days above the normal rangeWinter 2025–26: highest 2.77 m on 28 February 2026 · 53 days above the normal range’23–24’25–26Record 3.65 m, 2025Top of normal range
1990–912025–26
The highest days on record
  • 6 January 20253.65 m
  • 2 January 20243.21 m
  • 20 October 20233.04 m
  • 2 October 20242.97 m
  • 24 September 20242.97 m
  • 28 February 20262.77 m

The River Sence has topped its normal range on 577 days since 1990, most in the winters of 2023–24 and 2025–26. By its highest day, the winter of 2025–26 was the 2nd-highest of the 35.

Environment Agency Hydrology API, South Wigston (station 4086), daily maximum level; the record and normal range from the EA’s stage scale. Live river levels are on GOV.UK’s Check for flooding.

Flood warnings

No flood warning or alert is in force for Wigston · 3 warnings in 20 years

The Environment Agency has 1 flood warning area and 2 alert areas reaching into the town; warnings since the service began in 2006.

Now: no flood warnings or alerts for Wigston (checked 8 November 2026, 12:33). Check for flooding on GOV.UK →
Warnings and alerts each year for areas in Wigston
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
Flood warning (flooding expected)Flood alert (flooding possible)

Of the 3 warnings, 3 were for River Sence at Blaby and Glen Parva. 2012 had the most warnings (3); 2024 the most alerts (30).

The most recent warning was on 24 December 2012.

Show the 3 warning and alert areas
AreaKindSince 2006Now
River Sence at Blaby and Glen ParvaWarning area3None
River Sence in LeicestershireAlert area136None
Tributaries in Leicester CityAlert area30None

Environment Agency Historic Flood Warnings (first issues only, not updates; “flood watch” counted as an alert before 2011) and the real-time flood-monitoring API. Sign up for free warnings on GOV.UK or call Floodline, 0345 988 1188.

Radon

Parts of Wigston are in radon Affected Areas, at the low end

Radon is a natural radioactive gas from the ground; long exposure raises the risk of lung cancer. The atlas gives the chance that a home in each 1 km square is above the UK action level (200 Bq/m³).

SP5798: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP5799: Under 1% of homes above the action levelSP5897: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP5898: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP5899: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP5997: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP5998: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP5999: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSK5900: 3–5% of homes above the action levelSP6097: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP6098: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP6099: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSK6000: 3–5% of homes above the action levelSP6197: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP6198: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP6199: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSK6100: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP6298: 1–3% of homes above the action levelSP6299: 1–3% of homes above the action level© OpenStreetMap contributors · BGS/UKHSA
Under 1%1–3%3–5%
Share of the town’s area in each band
Under 1% of homes1%
1–3% of homes92%
3–5% of homes7%

99% of Wigston’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area (1% of homes or more above the action level).

The squares are indicative: each takes the highest band found anywhere inside it, so most homes in a coloured square are below it. Only a three-month test in the home gives a real answer.

BGS/UKHSA Indicative Atlas of Radon in Great Britain, version 3. Check an address at UKradon.org.

Neighbours

Flood risk in the places around Wigston

Share of homes at high or medium and at low risk from rivers and the sea. Tap a town for its page.

Oadby: Hazard risk C+Countesthorpe: Hazard risk ABlaby and Whetstone: Hazard risk CLeicester: Hazard risk C−Great Glen: Hazard risk B−Littlethorpe: Hazard risk B−Cosby: Hazard risk COadbyCountesthorpeBlaby and WhetstoneLeicesterGreat GlenLittlethorpeCosbyWigston
ABCD
TownPeopleHigh or mediumLowHazard
Wigston34,728under 0.1%0.3%B
Oadby24,0390.6%0.8%C+
Countesthorpe7,6740%0%A
Blaby and Whetstone14,0720.9%4.6%C
Leicester406,6122.1%4.5%C−
Great Glen4,0620.2%2.8%B−
Littlethorpe1,9180.2%0.6%B−
Cosby3,5181.6%2.8%C

Leicester, 3.4 miles north, has the most homes at risk around Wigston (2.1% at high or medium). Countesthorpe has none.

Be ready

Get ready for what Wigston faces

Free warnings, what to do in a cloudburst, and what to check before you move.

Get the warnings
  • Sign up free for Environment Agency flood warnings by text, call or email.
  • Floodline: 0345 988 1188, 24 hours.
  • Wigston’s warning areas include River Sence at Blaby and Glen Parva.
Sign up ↗
In a cloudburst
  • Surface water rises in minutes, often with no warning issued: stay out of underpasses and dips.
  • Keep the gullies and drains outside your home clear of leaves.
  • Report a blocked road drain to the council.
Radon
  • Test over three months, in a living room and a bedroom.
  • Above 200 Bq/m³, a small sump and fan usually fixes it.
  • New homes in radon areas are built with protection: basic from 3%, full from 10%.
UKradon ↗
Before you buy or rent in Wigston
  • Check the address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service: it gives rivers and sea and surface water separately.
  • Ask whether the home has flooded or had a flood insurance claim; the TA6 property form asks the seller.
  • Homes built before 2009 can get flood cover through Flood Re, the government-backed scheme; newer homes can’t.
  • Check radon for the address on UKradon.org (a small fee) or ask the seller for a test result.
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Defences are counted. Both agencies’ maps allow for flood defences and the chance they are overtopped or fail, so a town behind a defence scheme can show few homes at high risk and many at low risk.
  • Surface water is our estimate. Neither agency publishes a count of homes at risk from surface water, so we read each address on the map. A flat on a hill and a basement in a dip can share a postcode.
  • Past floods are what was recorded. The flood outlines come from surveys, aerial photographs and reports; many small floods, and most surface-water floods, were never mapped.
  • One town, many streets. Risk is street by street. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service before you buy or rent.

Check the long-term flood risk for an address on GOV.UK →

Questions about flooding and hazards in Wigston

Does Wigston flood?

The last flood the Environment Agency recorded inside the town was in January 1947. Under 0.1% of homes are at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea on the Environment Agency’s maps, which allow for flood defences. About 6.6% of homes are at high or medium risk from surface water, when heavy rain overwhelms the drains. Wigston grades B for hazard risk against UK towns.

Which parts of Wigston are at risk of flooding?

From rivers and the sea, the places the Environment Agency warns directly: River Sence at Blaby and Glen Parva. Surface water can collect in low spots anywhere in the town. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s long-term flood risk service.

When did Wigston last flood?

The recorded flood outlines inside the town run from 1947 to 1947 (1 years); the largest was in 1947. Flood warnings have been issued for parts of the town since 2006, most recently on 24 December 2012.

Is Wigston at risk of surface water flooding?

About 3.6% of homes are at high risk and 3% at medium risk from surface water, against under 0.1% at high or medium risk from rivers and the sea. Surface water floods come with little warning, and the agencies don’t issue warnings for them.

Is radon a problem in Wigston?

99% of the town’s built-up area is in a radon Affected Area on the BGS/UKHSA atlas. Most homes are below it; a three-month test is the only way to know.

Are there flood warnings in Wigston now?

No flood warning or alert was in force near Wigston at 8 November 2026, 12:33. Live warnings are on GOV.UK’s Check for flooding service and Floodline, 0345 988 1188.

Contains Environment Agency information © Environment Agency and/or database right 2026. Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2026.

Sources: Environment Agency Risk of Flooding from Rivers and Sea, postcodes in areas at risk (June 2026); Natural Resources Wales Flood Risk Assessment Wales (May 2026); ONS Census 2021 households by postcode · Environment Agency Risk of Flooding from Surface Water (NaFRA2, 2025) and Natural Resources Wales Flood Risk Assessment Wales surface water and small watercourses, read at every address (ONS National Statistics UPRN Lookup, September 2026) and weighted by Census 2021 households by postcode · Environment Agency Recorded Flood Outlines and Natural Resources Wales historic flood map, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Environment Agency Hydrology API (daily maximum river level) and flood-monitoring stage scales · Environment Agency real-time flood-monitoring API · Environment Agency Historic Flood Warnings (January 2006 to June 2026) and flood warning and alert areas · BGS/UKHSA Indicative Atlas of Radon in Great Britain, version 3, by 1 km square · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.