Shropshire gales topple tree across canal

Gusts of up to 50mph were recorded at Shawbury overnight as forecasters warned the region faced a two-day battering.

And two houses at Bourton near Much Wenlock were hit by lightning today as thunderstorms swept the county.

The region has been warned to brace itself for more gales today and tomorrow.

The winds brought down a tree across the Shropshire Union Canal, near Market Drayton, blocking the canal entirely.

The tree fell near bridge 56 at Woodseaves and blocked the canal for five days before being removed yesterday.

Two neighbouring homes in Bourton were struck by lightning. Firecrews were called to a farmhouse and a cottage.

The call came after reports of lightning strikes in a brief storm.

Residents raised the alarm after the first home was struck at about 8am. A spokesman for Shropshire Fire and Rescue said there had been a smell of burning in the home but crews using a thermal imaging camera did not find any fire.

At 8.30am crews were called out to the area again, to reports of a kitchen fire, believed to have been caused by lightning. Nobody at the property was injured.

The Met Office today warned that more wind and rain is expected to lash Shropshire and Mid Wales today and tomorrow. Forecasters have issued a yellow warning, the most lenient, that there could be severe gales over hills from midnight tonight with rain continuing until the evening.

The river level on The Severn was expected to peak at 3.8metres (12ft) at The Quarry and the West Mids Showground in Shrewsbury this afternoon.

Environment Agency said levels were at 3.6metres (11ft) at 7am and rising slowly. At the Bridgnorth Gauge, a peak level of up to 3.8 metres (12ft) is expected tomorrow morning.