Lorry overturns after heavy rain affects roads

A large lorry is overturned on its side in a field. There is mud and water on the ground underneath it. The photo is taken from the side of a road, where you can see mud that has been disturbed, and red and white tape running acrossImage source, West Mercia Police
Image caption,

Police, fire and ambulance services attended the scene of an overturned HGV

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An HGV came off the road and was left on its side in a field in Shropshire after heavy rain left the surface slippery, police said.

The crash happened on the A488 near More, at about 13:30 BST.

West Mercia Police said ambulance crews attended the scene, but the driver was ok.

Heavy rain started on Wednesday, with parts of Shropshire seeing more than the average monthly rainfall for October in just 24 hours.

There was further disruption on many roads on Thursday, while several schools were closed.

At least one car was abandoned trying to leave Battlefield service station outside Shrewsbury, with water also covering the A49 and A53 - both key routes out of the town.

Image source, Carl Bishop
Image caption,

Many of the county's roads were affected following heavy rain

Flooding on railway lines at Wellington station meant trains between Shrewsbury and Wellington were cancelled and replaced by buses for those travelling on to Wolverhampton.

Telford MP Shaun Davies has previously called for improvements to be made to the line, after it flooded at the end of last month.

Posting on Thursday, The Brooklands pub, in Shrewsbury, said it would be closed until further notice, due to "catastrophic flooding".

The nearby Rea Brook burst its banks and flooded the inside of the pub, as well as the nearby petrol station forecourt.

On Facebook, the pub said the closure would be for "several weeks if not months", adding the plan was to "gut the entire pub including restaurant and function room and start again".

Image source, West Midlands Railway
Image caption,

Trains were cancelled after tracks at Wellington train station were left submerged

Bernie Bentick, ward councillor for Meole, said the Rea Brook had seen a record high in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Levels at the Hookagate measuring station recorded a high of 2.98 metres (9.77ft) at 02:00. The previous high was 2.54 metres (8.33ft), recorded in July 2007.

Former Environment Agency officer Dave Throup said it was "really concerning that this amount of rain has resulted in such extreme river levels".

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