Shrewsbury roads and car parks open up as county recovers from latest Severn flooding

Shrewsbury is "largely back to normal" after days of town centre roads being flooded, said the county council, with the town's roads open again. Large parts of the town centre and Coleham had been inaccessible because of the floodwater.

Most roads are open again, but Gravel Hill Lane, Sydney Avenue and Coleham Head are still affected, as is Atcham near Shrewsbury.

The car park at St Julian's Friars has opened and work is underway to get the Frankwell car park ready again now it is accessible.

Some low-lying footpaths near the river are still closed as the water level continues to fall. Roads in Bridgnorth are also being opened again today.

Shropshire Council said: "While the roads have been closed we have taken the opportunity to carry out highways maintenance in Coleham, Smithfield Road, Wyle Cop and on the A442.

"In Bridgnorth we currently have road sweepers out, and both Riverside and Friars Street will be reopened today. We are waiting for floods to recede in Severn Terrace, Doctors Lane and Southwell Riverside, but teams will be working through the weekend to clean these and we expect them to be open by Monday.

"Skips are being distributed in the worst affected areas. They will be in five locations in Shrewsbury, two in Bridgnorth, and also in Melverley. These are to help people affected by the floods, and not for general use. Please be respectful of those people’s needs.

"The clean-up is ongoing in Melverley and Pentre, and again we will have teams out over the weekend to help these communities."

All but one of the River Severn's flood warnings have been lifted across Shropshire although water levels remain high.

There is still an 'orange' flood alert in place for the Severn throughout the region, suggesting flooding is possible but there is no imminent threat to life, and hundreds of acres of low lying land and some roads remain under water.

The one red warning still in the county is at Quatford south of Bridgnorth, where the Environment Agency says the Quatford Caravan Park could still be affected.

Levels are falling on gauges along watercourses in the area, the Environment Agency said on Friday.

As of Friday morning, the river at Shrewsbury's Welsh Bridge was close to the top of its normal range, 2.70m. It peaked at 5.15m on Tuesday morning.

At Buildwas the Severn was at 4.57m on Friday, down from the 6.65m peak on Tuesday evening but above the top of the normal range, 3.40m.

The river level was 3.97m at Bridgnorth on Friday, down from the 5.12m peak on Wednesday but above the top of the normal range, 3.60m.

The Environment Agency removed nine of the red flood warnings on Thursday overnight although they still remain downstream at Quatford, Stourport and Bewdley.

Flood alerts have also been removed for Mid Wales, with two still in place on the River Dee below Llangollen and taking in part of the North Shropshire border.

A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: "We expect river levels to remain high over the next few days. 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 and avoid contact with flood water."