In photos: Flooding clean-up in Tenbury Wells

The pretty Worcestershire market town was left 13ft (4m) under water after a wall was swept away when the Kyre Brook burst its banks.

Dozens of businesses and shops suffered smashed windows and water damage after floods surged down the historic high street.

A 57-year-old man was also arrested after a tractor was driven through the flooded streets causing a wave to crash against the buildings and smash windows.

Business owner Louise Preston, 20, who runs Pitter Potter, said: “The level of damage for us is surprisingly minimal, apart from the fact that someone drove a tractor through the flood.

“The wave that it caused knocked out a huge window for us.

“We managed to get it boarded up last night, but it knocked our window out and others on the street, too.

“We’ve got quite a bit of mopping to do, and the plumbing has to be repaired.

“We’ve had all the sockets moved and the shelves raised, though, so we were prepared.

“We are mercifully lucky. Thanks to our preparation we can be up and running by the end of the week.”

Resident Graham Youngs, 50, said: “It’s heartening to see so many people mucking in to get the town cleaned up today.

“Sadly this is probably not the last time we’ll be doing this.

“I think flooding is going to get worse but we don’t have the defences to cope if it happens again like it did on Sunday.”