Flood warnings remain in Shropshire after days of destruction
Residents are warned to "be prepared" for flooding as river levels remain high across Shropshire.
Government flood warnings are still in place for areas along the River Severn including Shrewsbury, the Ironbridge Gorge and Bridgnorth. Flood barriers will remain in Shrewsbury and Ironbridge as a precaution, with the situation to be assessed over the weekend.
More than 200 flood alerts were reported across England this morning, with residents told: "Flooding is possible – be prepared."
The latest update this afternoon said: "River levels are rising at the Crew Green, Montford, Welsh Bridge and Buildwas river gauges as a result of heavy rainfall. Consequently, flooding of roads and farmland is expected to continue.
"We expect flooding to affect low lying land and roads adjacent to the river from Shrewsbury to Upper Arley. Locations that may be affected are White Abbey, Leighton, Gravel Hill Lane Shrewsbury, Coalbrookdale, Ironbridge and Bridgnorth.
"Further rainfall is forecast over the next 24 hours. We expect river levels to remain high into next week. We are closely monitoring the situation.
"Our incident response staff are checking defences. Please plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded."
Flooding is also possible further down the river, at Highley and into Worcestershire.
Revised snow warning
Meanwhile a snow warning that had been issued across much of western England for Saturday has been revised to cover a smaller area – the Met Office said that snow is not expected in Telford or east Shropshire, but could still affect areas south or west of Shrewsbury including Welshpool, Clun and Ludlow.
There are amber flood alerts in place on the River Severn through Shropshire and also on the Upper Teme in the south of the county.
Upstream there are alerts on the Severn Vyrnwy confluence from Llanymynech near Oswestry down through Melverley and Pentre while across the Welsh border alerts are in place for the Upper Severn in Powys and the Vyrnwy catchment.
Last week flooding hit Shrewsbury and Ironbridge with shops and homes damaged. Flood barriers remain in place.
Forecasters say some rural communities in other parts of the country could become “cut off” due to the downpours.
Ice is predicted to begin forming in the North East and Scotland from Friday afternoon, causing “difficult driving conditions”.
