Shropshire on flood alert as rain sweeps in

Residents who have just finished clearing up from last week's deluge have been warned to expect more bad weather tonight – with the Environment Agency issuing three flood alerts in the county.

Alerts have been placed on two stretches of the River Teme – upstream and downstream of Ludlow – as well as on the Tern and Perry catchment, which includes the rivers Tern, Perry, Roden, Strine and Meese and their tributaries.

After heavy rainfall overnight the River Teme at Newham Bridge, near Ludlow, was expected to peak at 2.3 metres today.

In Leintwardine water levels are expected to rise to 1.6 metres, at the Onibury Gauge it could reach up to 1.9 metres.

Rain will sweep Britain this weekend, with south-west England and Wales expected to be worst hit. The region has seen deluges of 15-20mm overnight and more downpours are expected later tonight.

According to weather experts rainfall readings could reach 60mm on higher ground by tomorrow.

A severe weather warning of heavy rain has been issued by the Met Office for Wales, the West Midlands and south-west England.

A spokesman for the Met Office said people in Shropshire should be on alert for the possibility of flooding, made worse because of last week's downpours.

He said: "Periods of heavy rain are likely until Saturday morning.

"It is looking increasingly likely that people in Shropshire will experience a dry interlude today, before further heavy, persistent rain moves eastwards into the early hours of Saturday.

"However there still remains considerable uncertainty in the details of the heavy rain by late Friday and the warning may be adjusted further."