Flood barriers up in Ironbridge and Shrewsbury as heavy rain pours until Christmas Eve
Flood alerts remain in place across several parts of Shropshire and Mid Wales after the heavy rain of the past few days.
Rain was forecast to continue pouring across most of Shropshire throughout Wednesday ahead of a dry festive period from Christmas Eve onwards.
A yellow weather warning covering Ludlow and Clun and much of south England was set to be in place until 2am on Thursday.
But while weather forecasters have promised a respite for the weekend, the rain that has fallen in the hills of Wales still has to find its way into the already swollen waters of the Rivers Severn and Vyrnwy.
Flood barriers are up in both Shrewsbury and Ironbridge, with the Severn still rising, but the river is expected to stay around two metres lower than the near-record levels recorded during the February and March floods.
Levels were expected to peak at the Welsh Bridge in Shrewsbury and at Buildwas and Bridgnorth on Thursday.
However the Environment Agency says that its staff will continue to monitor the levels closely over the coming days.
The main car park in Frankwell, Shrewsbury, was partially closed on Wednesday as a result, with around 250 spaces blocked off and overnight parking banned.
And Arriva Midlands said that flooding between Clive and Yorton, north of Shrewsbury meant that its 511 Shrewsbury-Whitchurch service was unable to serve the two villages. The service had to be diverted along the A49 trunk road.
Police in Wales warned drivers to be on the alerts for standing water following Wednesday's yellow weather warning for the region, including Powys.
They said several road were affected by the persistent rain that has plagued the area.
Police forces across the region are warning motorists travelling for Christmas to monitor flood maps and plan their journeys to avoid low lying roads that could be flooded.
They warned against trying to drive through the floods.
A red flood warning is in place on the Lower Dee, below Llangollen and skirting the Shropshire border into Cheshire.
Lesser flood alerts have been posted for the: Ledwyche Brook and River Rea; Lower Teme and Upper Teme; River Severn in Shropshire; Severn Vyrnwy confluence and in Wales the Vyrnwy and the Upper Severn in Powys.
