Pictures: Flood barriers go up in Shrewsbury as heavy rain expected
Flood barriers have gone up Shrewsbury this morning after weather warning were issued.
The remnants of storm Jonas, which blanketed much of the east coast of America in deep snow, have begun to sweep in from the Atlantic, prompting widespread weather and flood alerts.
The low level barriers went up in Frankwell and were put up by the Environment Agency at about 9am.
Dave Throup, Environment Agency manager for Shropshire said: "Flood barriers now going up at Frankwell in Shrewsbury, but they are only low level ones so minimal disruption - the town is still fully open."
Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss has chaired an emergency meeting in order to co-ordinate the Government's response to the expected rainfall, which could be as much as 3.9ins in hilly areas.
Scores of flood alerts were in place this morning and the Environment Agency (EA) said areas already affected by record river levels, including Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire, were likely to be at risk of flooding as heavy rain throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday could cause river levels to rise and drains to flood.
The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for heavy rain and severe gales in these areas, with forecasters predicting around 30 to 50mm of rain in most areas.
