Ellesmere Cricket Club pitch so flooded that DUCKS move in

The council wants a camera to be run through the culvert which runs under the town, to find the source of the flooding.

Council clerk Mandy Evans said that last week the Ellesmere Cricket Club ground was completely waterlogged and that there was also a flood by Jebb Court.

"There's been problems with the cricket ground being flooded for a long time," she said.

"Phil, the assistant town clerk, met recently with Shropshire Wildlife Trust and Shropshire Council for an update but at the time the land was quite dry. However, Phil has since took a walk around and took photos when it was completely waterlogged.

"It was waterlogged again on the weekend and I was called down to the entrance of Jebb Court where there was a very extensive flood down the road there. I went down and took photos there and I will say it was a good tyre deep."

She said the cricket club has raised concerns that it would be liable if the flood water ended up flooding the road.

Last month club officials revealed they might have to move from their town-centre base because of the problem with drainage and flooding and are in talks with Ellesmere College to move there if it isn't resolved.

However, Mrs Evans said it is unclear whose responsibility it is as the culvert, which may be the source of the problems, runs from the Mere through town, down Cross Street, Scotland Street and past Jebb Court then goes under the canal.

"We want to try to eliminate the culvert as the problem," she added. "But I think I'm going to hit some stumbling blocks because we don't know who it belongs to. I will write to Shropshire Council again to see if it something their highways department would deal with.

"We're also talking to Shropshire Wildlife because they have a long-term lease of the pond at the bottom of the cricket club. I think it all has a knock-on effect to the issues so that is why we're also looking at clearing Tetchill Brook to see if that makes a difference."

Birch Road ground is owned by the town council and leased to Ellesmere Cricket Club on a long-term basis.