Flood nightmare continues

People in Shropshire and Mid Wales today woke up to more floods as torrential rain swept across the region.

Homes and businesses were starting to assess the damage and begin the long process of mopping-up as the unseasonal weather continued.

Mervyn Price, of Horsehay, Telford said he woke up this morning to find his home flooded for the second time in a week.

Mr Price, 77, of Spring Village, said he put sandbags out last night in the hope of keeping the water at bay, but they had failed.

He said: "It is just a miserable situation, I have got the insurance company coming out to see me, because all my carpets have been ruined. It was like Niagara Falls when I came downstairs this morning."

Shifnal was experiencing some of the "worst floods in living memory", the town mayor said today.

Councillor Tom Jones said people in Beech Drive were worst hit, after nearby Wesley Brook flooded. He said: "It has not reached the properties yet, but it will if the rain continues. People are very concerned."

Councillor Jones said he would meet residents and borough council officers, as well as the Environment Agency, to see how flooding could be fought in the future.

Torrential rain in Welshpool last night caused about £60,000 of damage to the town's Armoury Recreation Centre.

A blocked culvert at Bron-y-Buckley sent thousands of gallons of muddy water flooding down the road, through people's gardens and into the recreation centre, flooding the ground floor to a depth of 3ft, Welshpool town clerk Robert Robinson said today.

"The sports floor was flooded and the squash court floor was actually floating. The building's boiler was under water and the grouting between the tiles in the changing rooms was washed away causing the tiles to lift."

Mr Robinson said the centre would be closed for at least a month.

Motorists trying to get in and out of Bridgnorth were severely restricted as floods made routes impassable today.

The county council's Gareth Proffitt said: "The A458 has been closed due to it being under water. It is impassible and diversions are in place along the A4169 and the A442.

"The A442 between Sutton Maddock and Bridgnorth is down to one lane due to the weather but the road is still open."

Despite new problems hitting the district, The Mill Hotel & Restaurant and The Paper Mill in Alveley have not suffered any ill-effects overnight.

Both were severely damaged in last Tuesday's flash floods. Bridgnorth's golf course was in a "very bad" state after flooding washed away an entire hole.

Hundreds of tonnes of debris has been scattered across the course and officials say it will take an enormous amount of work to repair it.

Secretary Gordon Kelsall, said: "It is very bad at the moment. We can't even get near it to have a look because of all the water. One of the holes has been washed away."

People in Market Drayton and surrounding areas were being warned by the Environment Agency about the rising level of the River Tern. The river was on flood watch this morning alongside the Perry, Roden, Strine and Meese and their tributaries.

County highways managers at Hodnet, were warning people to take care on the roads. Acting assistant divisional surveyor Ian Walshaw said while there was a lot of surface water none of the roads were blocked or closed as far as he was aware.

He said: "It's just a matter of drivers taking care and driving sensibly. If people spot anything then they should give us a ring at the county council and let us know.

"We can put up things like warning signs and we will have people out throughout the day monitoring and taking a look at anything that does come up."

In south Shropshire, sections of the A49 around Church Stretton and on the outskirts of Ludlow were flooded and traffic was reduced to a crawl.

Organisers of Ludlow Festival were also hoping for the weather to clear amid fears persistent showers would reduce attendances. In rural areas, there was flooding in low-lying fields and farmers shepherded their animals indoors or to higher ground.

Despite the heavy rain, flood-prone areas in Oswestry, including Melverley and Pentre, had just surface water this morning.

Jean Lewis of Llandrinio said: "We haven't got any flooding at the moment there are just puddles on the roads and there are no flood warnings at the moment."

Despite the downpours, a spokesman for Shropshire Fire & Rescue Service said it had been a quiet night until early this morning when people woke to flooding.

By Andy Walker