Video and pictures: Shropshire farm land swamped for seven weeks
Shropshire farmer Bryan Edwards admits allowing himself a wry smile when David Cameron announced farmers could be paid to allow farmland to be flooded to save towns downstream of rivers.
For ever since he and his family moved to Pool Farm at Melverley, near Oswestry, his fields have often lain under water as part of the Severn flood plain, allowing the control of the volume of water going through Shrewsbury and beyond.
But he and other farmers haven't had a penny in compensation.
This week Mr Edwards's fields will have been under water for seven weeks, as rain belt after rain belt has crossed Britain in one of the wettest and warmest winters on record. Now, as the weather turns cold, there is the prospect of sleet and snow to look forward to.
Mr Edwards says the flooded fields are part of the annual routine – the time of year when the fields lay 'rested'.
But the flooding does cause issues, especially if it continues for an extended period.
His beef cattle remain inside during the winter months, not let out on to the grass until April, so crops are not getting ruined.
He said: "Old pasture is very hardy and the water will not affect it. But if farmers have re-planted with more modern, more productive grass, it may not cope with being flooded for such a long time."
"This is the longest the floods have remained for many years. Usually after two or three weeks it drains back into the Severn through the flood gates at Pentre."
As a parish councillor and chairman of the Melverley internal drainage board, Mr Edwards and colleagues campaigned long and hard for improvements to the drainage system.
They were able to see the 'argaes' – man made flood defences dating back to the 18th century – built higher and also get new outlet gates that allow water back into the river put in in 2001.
"We had a lot of help from MP Owen Paterson at the time and those flood gates definitely help," Mr Edwards said.
"The Environment Agency is also very helpful."
