Big clean up starts after Shropshire floods shock

A major clean-up operation was under way today after a tidal wave of floodwater caused chaos in parts of Shropshire.

And the cost of repairing damage caused by the weather over the weekend is set to run into tens of thousands of pounds.

Bridges collapsed and roads were washed away under pressure from rising water levels as brooks and small rivers became swollen – with residents telling of water 'roaring' past their homes.

• Check the latest local weather forecasts

People lost personal possessions and several had to be rescued from their homes during the night by firefighters and neighbours. And whole communities worked through the night into the early hours of Saturday morning helping those in need.

At Dippers Bank Park, a retirement complex near Cleobury Mortimer, people living in nine homes were left stranded after a bridge across Ditton Brook was almost completely swept away by water.

Derek Rose, 74, who lives in a house next to the bridge with his wife Maureen, had a lucky escape when he moved his car from his paved garden during the night – only to find the whole garden gone when he got back to his house minutes later.

He said: "I moved the car a few metres up the road, locked it, walked back to the house and the garden had been swept away and the bridge had virtually gone.

"When the trees came down the brook I did fear for the house for a moment. The force the water was coming down with was indescribable. This is the fourth time this year there has been flooding here. We have been here 13 years and never seen anything like this."

Mrs Rose, 72, said: "We got woken up at 11pm on Friday by people shouting to get our attention. There was a horrendous noise at the time – the water was roaring, there is no other word for it." Doris Smardon, 70, and her husband Peter, 73, were helped out of their home next to the brook during the night by firefighters.

Mrs Smardon said: "We started hearing bumps and rumbles outside, and before we knew it firefighters were coming in and helping us leave. We stayed with neighbours but we didn't get much sleep."

Michael Hadley, 65, who has lived on the site for more than a decade, added: "Fortunately no-one has been hurt."

Andrew Lunnon, who owns the site, said £40,000 worth of sewage equipment had been either swept away or ruined in the floods. He said: "It could take us a few weeks to get the bridge repaired."

Maureen Matthews, 74, said although she did not live near the brook she had been forced to move in with neighbours after rainwater came down the lane leading to the park and caused a power cut in her home. She said: "It was very scary."

In Neen Sollars, near Cleobury Mortimer, most of the bridge crossing the River Rea linking the town to Kidderminster and the Wyre Forest was washed away.

Bernard and Elsie Owen were rescued during the night by firefighters using a boat and another couple was rescued in the early hours by a local farmer. The road was closed to all traffic and residents fear it could take months before the bridge is repaired. Villager Anne Horsley, 70, said: "This is the first time the floods have been bad enough to take the bridge down."

In Culmington, near Craven Arms, people affected by flash flooding were able to stay with neighbours as the community rallied around. In Minsterley businesses affected by flooding included Shropshire Pressure Washers and Smith's Butchers, while homes in The Grove were also hit by flooding.

And the Hole in the Wall Festival, which was due to be held at Hopton Court in Hopton Wafers over the weekend, was cancelled on Saturday morning.

See also:

• Bridge washed away in Shropshire floods

• Flood rescues as rivers rise – In pictures

• Big flood clean-up begins but danger ahead

• Shropshire hit by flooding – VIDEO