Flood alerts for Shropshire as Storm Gerrit batters the UK - with major rail disruption and roads blocked

On Thursday afternoon the Government released a flood warning for the River Severn in Shrewsbury, warning that the river was rising after heavy rainfall.

The warning system said: "River levels are rising at the Welsh Bridge river gauge as a result of heavy rainfall. Consequently, flooding of property, roads and farmland is expected.

"We expect flooding to affect offices at the showground and Gravel Hill Lane."

The Severn is expected to peak at the Welsh Bridge on Friday evening, between 3.2m and 3.6m.

Earlier the Met Office had said heavy showers and some more prolonged periods of rainfall and blustery conditions were expected to continue throughout Thursday and Friday.

Flood warnings and river peaks

A flood warning also remained in place for the River Vyrnwy at Melverley and Maesbrook. The Environment Agency said at approximately 5pm on Wednesday: "River levels are rising at the Llanymynech river gauge as a result of heavy rainfall.

"Consequently, flooding (of property) is imminent.

"We expect flooding to affect properties and roads in and around Melverley including Melverley to Melverley Green and Ponthen to Melverley roads.

Flood barriers were put up in Ironbridge on Wednesday morning, with defences at Frankwell in Shrewsbury, and Bewdley, having been in place since before Christmas to guard against rising river levels.

Chris Bainger from the Environment Agency said that high winds made the deployment in Ironbridge "particularly challenging".

Describing the River Severn as "very swollen", the agency's fisheries technical specialist said: "We are expecting the River Severn to peak at a height of 4.8m to 5.3m in the coming days.

River levels are expected to remain high until December 29 with peaks now expected not on Thursday but on Friday. The Environment Agency say they are closely monitoring the situation with incident response staff checking defences.

Advice

People have also been urged to avoid using low lying footpaths near local watercourses.

Vehicles got stuck in the water in Bitterley Road, Ludlow, and on the B4364 Ludlow Road, Bridgnorth on Wednesday.

A vehicle got stuck in a ford. Firefighters were called out at 4.35pm and helped remove it.

Crews were called to the other incident just 15 minutes later. A car got stuck trying to go under a bridge. It was pulled out by a tractor, which had straps attaching the two vehicles provided by the fire service.

There were also various reports of fallen trees throughout Wednesday.

The wind caused some minor disruption across the county overnight too. The fire service had to close a Shrewsbury road on Wednesday night after a overhead electricity line was brought down during the storm.

The overhead cable in Harley was found by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) overhanging the road at around 11.24pm.

A spokesperson for SFRS said they closed the road and left the incident in the hands of Western Power (National Grid).

Travel problems

National Rail said Storm Gerrit may continue to disrupt travel plans on Thursday 28 December, so passengers are urged to check before they travel.

Lines to and from Shrewsbury were reportedly badly affected, with ongoing issues meaning no trains were running between Shrewsbury and Crewe.

Due to heavy rain flooding the railway between Swansea and Shrewsbury the line via Heart of Wales was also closed. National Rail said road replacement transport was running, with the line expected to be closed until the end of New Year's Day.

A road was reportedly closed on Thursday morning due to a fallen tree on Haughton Lane, Shifnal.

Tornado in the north

There were reports that a tornado touched down in Manchester yesterday. But the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation said a detailed site investigation would need to be undertaken before it can confirm the damage was caused by a rare British tornado.