Residents brace for 'Wild Wednesday' as Bewdley river levels continue to rise

Rain has continued to batter the West Midlands, with a motorist having to be rescued from the roof of his car, while Environment Agency bosses warned there was 'no end in sight' for flooding in Worcestershire as flood barriers were built higher in Bewdley.

The town was braced to face the worst risk of flooding in 14 years today with residents warned to be alert as barriers along the River Severn took the strain of rapidly rising water levels.

Red flood warnings are in place for the first time this winter for the River Severn at Bewdley.

Floods

The river was set to rise to more than 17ft this evening – just short of flowing over barriers erected in Severnside North and Severnside South in Bewdley.

Water levels have already risen beyond those of 2008, and now the Environment Agency's manager for Herefordshire and Worcestershire Dave Throup has said they could get even higher.

His warning comes as the flood defence barriers are continuing to be built to ever increasing heights. "The situation is not great, there is a lot coming down the Severn – we are talking very high levels," he said.

He added that snow and storm force winds were expected, and 'there is no end in sight at the moment'.

Meanwhile, this was the scene near Bridgnorth today as more heavy rain brought fresh flooding misery to residents.

Motorhomes looked more like boats at this site, as it became completely submerged following the worst flooding in years.

Water levels on the River Severn in Bridgnorth were today standing at 15ft.

The typical river level there is between 1.8ft and 11ft.

Riverside and Severn Terrace, in Bridgnorth, were already under water today while the town was braced for worse as the Severn peaked this morning.

Forecasters are warning that some of the strongest winds of the winter could hit today, with gusts of up to 100mph on exposed parts of the Welsh coast.

It comes as heavy rain and storms were predicted to hit the Midlands today, bringing an increased risk of flooding when coupled with already saturated land in the region.

Engineers were today putting another level onto the barriers across Severnside North in preparation for soaring levels in the coming hours. Around five workers were at the riverside installing another metal section on the top of the existing barriers which had been put in place over the last few days.

Pumping work was also taking place along Beales Corner with generators in place to remove extra flood water and keep river levels more constant.

Environment Agency officials said the current river level was around 16ft but this was expected to reach a peak of around 17ft.

The complete height of the barriers is around 19ft but at the moment officials say they hoping that river levels will fail to reach that in the next few hours.

The river level is being constantly monitored with workers ready to act should levels rise higher than expected including bringing in additional barriers and extending existing measures.

Environment Manager Dave Hudson said: "We are prepared to respond as needed over the coming hours.

"We are forecasting a rise in the river level. It is a big operation but we are coping well."

Bewdley Bridge remained closed to traffic today but pedestrians could use the walkway. Many visitors and residents have come down to the riverside to take the opportunity to take pictures of the swollen river.

But Bewdley remains open for businesses today and was busy despite the closure of the bridge.

Wyre Forest District Council leader Councillor John Campion said today: "Lots of agencies are working together to keep Bewdley safe and they are planning for the worst-case scenarios.

"Bewdley does remain open for business," he stressed.

The River Severn is continuing to rise further upstream, with Ironbridge residents being told by the local authority to treat it as a 'serious situation'.

Many people living in the Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site had to move upstairs or leave their homes as the river peaked at more than 20ft above its normal level last night.

A flooded property in Ironbridge, Shropshire:

Meanwhile, in Staffordshire, a man was rescued from the roof of his car after getting stuck in flood water.

Firefighters were called to Hammerwich Lane in Hammerwich near Burntwood at 8pm last night where the vehicle was stricken near a railway bridge.

He was rescued by firefighters and his car retrieved from the floods.

Staffordshire Police and Staffordshire County Council have been asked to close the road.

Crew manager Allen Kimber from Lichfield fire station said: "You can approach the flooded area from three ways and cars cannot see it. It is totally flooded. The man had driven into it, water had come into his car and he was sat on the roof.

"We have piggy-backed him to safety and pulled the car out."

Meanwhile, Martyn Bradburn Tweeted this image of flooding in Moor Lane, Pattingham.

The Prime Minister chaired a meeting of Cobra in Downing Street this morning where he was told that flooding could reach 1947 levels in some areas.

But thousands of military personnel are available at short notice if extra support is needed.

Environment Agency chief executive Paul Leinster told the emergency committee: "Oxford to Maidenhead we think could rise over the next five days and may lead to more flooding in that area.

"Below Maidenhead, the levels are holding at the current level but potentially over the weekend and going into the beginning of next week they could rise to higher than the current levels.

"The current extent of flooding is similar to 2003 and in places we believe it could get to 1947 levels but, of course, there has been further work done since then, so we wouldn't expect to see the same levels of properties affected."

Major General Patrick Sanders, who is coordinating the military response, told the meeting that around 2,000 military personnel are involved in the clean-up operation and support in Somerset was increased overnight.

"What we would like to do is to thicken up some of the command and control structures at gold and silver level," he said.

He told the Prime Minister that 'thousands' of extra military personnel were available in a short period of time.

Mr Cameron said: "I think one of the things we have got to make sure today is that all the local authorities who need help are clear that they can get help."

Meanwhile, a Walsall-based relief organisation travelled to Somerset armed with sandbags, hand sanitizers and other hand-outs to help families who had fallen victims to the floods.

A group of volunteers from the Midland Langar Seva Society, which operates from Caldmore Sikh Temple, joined volunteers from Khalsa Aid, an international relief charity, to clear paths, bag sand, clear flooded homes and rescue personal belongings - including a family's pet goldfish.

Flooding has left farmland and businesses under water and forced residents to evacuate their homes.

Randhir Singh Heer, founder of the Midland Langar Seva Society, which provides food to the homeless across the Midlands and launched in October, said he received a call at the weekend requesting aid from Ravi Singh, CEO of Khalsa Aid.

"We took a van full of sandbags, 1,000 hand sanitizers and waterproof sheets.

"We helped to build a path to allow residents to walk around and we helped some residents move their furniture upstairs because their front rooms were flooded. The water was at knee height."

Today's storm could fell trees and cause transport and power disruption, with winds in the South West potentially reaching 80mph. And there is continuing disruption to rail services in the Thames Valley and West Country.

Heavy rain and gales were forecast for the Midlands as residents were warned to brace themselves for further wintry weather.