River levels swell as county hit by heavy rain

The Environment Agency has said that river levels are rising along the River Severn as a result of the recent heavy rainfall.

Consequently, flooding of roads and farmland is now expected.

A yellow weather warning for rain remains in place for some of the UK this week, but not Shropshire.

As of 9am on Thursday, the waterways are expected to peak from Thursday afternoon and onwards to Sunday.

The highest levels are predicted to first hit the Severn Vyrnwy confluence at Llanymynech on Thursday afternoon, with predicted peaks of between 4.2m and 4.4m.

Down the Severn at Crew Green is expected to see heights of 5.8m to 6m and Montford between 5.4m and 5.7m on Friday afternoon.

Overnight on Saturday, the river at Welshbridge in Shrewsbury is expected to hit between 3m and 3.5m.

On Sunday afternoon, the Severn at Buildwas is predicted to reach between 4.5m and 5m followed by between 4m and 4.3m in Bridgnorth.

A spokesperson from the Environment Agency said: "Further rainfall is forecast over the next 48 hours. We expect river levels to remain high over the next few days.

"We are closely monitoring the situation. Our incident response staff are liaising with emergency services and or local authorities.

"Please avoid using low-lying footpaths near local watercourses and avoid contact with flood water."