Flood barriers to come down as rivers fall

Flood defences were erected in Shrewsbury, Bewdley and Ironbridge last week

Flood barriers in Shropshire and Worcestershire are expected to come down in the coming days, as river levels fall.

David McKnight from the Environment Agency said the barriers in Shrewsbury, Bewdley and Ironbridge had protected "hundreds of people from flooding".

He also said there have been increasing issues with surface water flooding, caused by heavy rain falling on saturated ground.

"There certainly seems to be more of a frequency we're feeling now with heavy rainfall," he said.

Speaking about the defences in the three towns, he said: "The barriers were doing their job and we're very pleased with their performance."

He also said the "situation is slightly improving at the moment" and the high water levels experienced along the Severn was making its way down towards Gloucestershire.

While a number of rivers in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire still have less serious flood alerts in place, the only remaining flood warnings are on the Severn, from Worcester down to the Gloucestershire border.

Mr McKnight said while some rain was forecast, he was "not expecting rain to cause significant issues" this week, beyond the flooding which already existed.