Roads closed and cars stranded as river levels rise

Flooding has closed roads and left cars stranded as river levels continue to rise in Shropshire, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

Flood barriers have gone up on several stretches of the River Severn following days of downpours – with more forecast.

The Environment Agency (EA) said it was a “very complicated situation” that was being constantly monitored.

One expert said levels upstream of Shrewsbury were “likely to be approaching record levels” on Friday.

The EA said land was already saturated, meaning fresh rainfall was quickly ending up in rivers.

“The river levels aren’t unusual for this time of year [but] it’s the long, drawn-out nature of the problems that’s causing concern,” Matthew Lawrence, from the EA, said.

There were more than 60 flood warnings across England on Thursday afternoon.

The warnings cover locations including:

Many roads are also shut on Thursday, while Frankwell and St Julian’s car parks in Shrewsbury are closed.

Pitchcroft car park, in Worcester, is also shut, with drivers urged to avoid Croft Road, Newport Street and Cattlemarket.

Levels on the River Lugg in Herefordshire are also very high, with roads around Eardisland and Letton closed.

A peak there is expected on Friday morning.

Rail lines between Welshpool and Shrewsbury were blocked on Thursday, National Rail Enquiries said, while services on the Heart of Wales line from Llanelli to Craven Arms were running at reduced speed.

Cars were left stranded at Walcott Ford, in Drakes Broughton, Worcestershire, on Thursday.

A few hours after the first car got stuck, firefighters were called out after another vehicle somehow ended up submerged nose-first.

At Coleham in Shrewsbury, businesses spent Thursday preparing for floods, many raising items above expected river levels.

At the Quarry, the operators of the Coffee Evolution outlet went one further, by raising the entire store on stilts.

Velofit bike shop, in Coleham, was among the businesses moving stock out of the store, while other businesses including House Coffee Co closed its doors.

Barnabas Community Church, nestling next to the River Severn and used to regular flooding, hit out at the lack of information from the Environment Agency, which it said had made it impossible to plan services and events.

“They’re [the EA] not giving us the readings and predictions that are generated by people, they are just giving the automated computer things,” David Matthias, team leader at the church, told BBC Radio Shropshire.

“So we don’t know exactly how high it’s going to go.

“And that’s a significant problem for us, because at 4.6m our building does not flood, and at 4.7m, or just above, we have a 500-capacity, large community facility that will flood. That’s a huge deal.”

The EA has blamed industrial action.

Unison members are working to rule, ahead of a walkout later in the month in a dispute over pay.

Former EA member of staff Dave Throup said he was “getting a huge amount of traffic [on Twitter] on lack of flood warning info on the Severn & Wye”.

Bewdley Bridge in Worcestershire is set to close from 19:00 GMT on Thursday for work to be completed on further temporary flood barriers at Beale’s Corner, with rail operators warning of severe disruption to services in the area from Friday to Sunday if water levels continued to rise.

Affected roads included the A4113 in both directions in Leintwardine, Herefordshire from Roman Road to the B4530, Walford. The A4110 is also closed before Adforton, and Walcot Lane is shut in Drakes Broughton from Station Road to Shrubbery Road.

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