Wet and windy weather brings travel chaos to Shropshire roads
Two people were taken to hospital and others were rescued from their cars following a number of accidents as wet and windy weather hit the region.
Torrential rain created pools of standing water on roads throughout the region.
Major routes including the M54 were left treacherous – and police today issued a fresh warning for motorists to slow down and keep their distance as more poor weather was forecast.
Heavy rain and string winds breezed in from the Atlantic.
Forecasters say the region could be set for up to 10 days of miserable weather, while the Environment Agency has warned people to prepare for "significant" levels of flooding.
Drivers using the Bridgnorth Road suffered, with standing water causing problems.
Scores of motorists were caught up in waist-high water attempting to cross the notorious Trescott Ford in Furnace Grange Road, off the road to Bridgnorth.
Flood rescue specialists from West Midlands Fire Service were called to assist two drivers who had been forced to abandon their vehicles when they got stuck in the deep water.
Fields in the area were also flooded, leaving lifestock having to negotiate soggy ground.
Elsewhere in the region, traffic was brought to a standstill in Telford during the morning rush hour yesterday after two incidents and a traffic light failure caused disruption to drivers.
Four cars collided at the Red House Inn roundabout on the A518 at Lilleshall just before 8.30am.
A female driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries but no other injuries were reported, a spokesman for West Mercia Police said.
Police were called to the crash, which involved a silver Honda, bronze BMW, silver Jaguar and red Peugeot.
Meanwhile, an accident had already caused rush hour congestion further down the road towards Telford where the A518 meets the A442 at Trench Lock just before 8am.
The collision on the A442 Queensway partially blocked the road at the Trench Lock Interchange. To make matters worse, the traffic lights were out on the approach to the roundabout from Hadley Park, but they were working again by noon.
Later in the day, another person was taken to hospital after a car overturned near Telford after a collision in Queens Road in Donnington at 1.50pm.
The car was blocking the road for about an hour until it was cleared by police.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said one person had been taken to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford to check for injuries.
In north Shropshire, rush hour traffic was diverted after police closed a main road just after 9.30am. An overturned car in Glewstone on the A4137 led to the road being closed both ways between the A40 at Whitchurch and the B4521 at St Owens Cross.
Police were directing traffic around the incident until the road was reopened about two hours later.
A lorry also got stuck under a bridge on the A488 at Hanwood, near Shrewsbury, just after 8am.
The road was closed between Woodlands Avenue and Back Lane at Pontesbury until about 10.30am.
The Met Office today warned of double the usual rainfall, with a brief respite due in Shropshire on Sunday.
The colder temperatures of earlier in the week have been replaced by milder, wetter air.
It means the whole of next week is likely to be dominated by heavy showers, some of them heavy, along with strong winds.
The flooding affecting parts of Shropshire and Mid Wales comes just days after the National Audit Office warned that spending on flood protection in England was "insufficient"in light of government cuts to investment.
It warned that more money was needed to ensure areas vulnerable to flooding are kept safe.
