Flash flood that tore through town prompts apology

A damaged sewer has now been fixed on Broad Street, following the flooding on Sunday

A flash flood that tore through Ross-On-Wye damaging shops was caused by a collapsed drain, Welsh Water has confirmed.

The collapse, on Broad Street, led to damage to the road surface and pavements, later likened to a "beach" by town and county councillor Ed O'Driscoll.

Shops on the road were left flooded and many business owners have called for compensation after stock was damaged.

"We are genuinely sorry for distress and inconvenience caused by the collapsed sewer in Broad Street, Ross on Wye, during the extensive rainfall last Sunday," a Welsh Water spokesperson said.

The sewer has now been repaired and the road reopened, said the spokesperson, who also acknowledged some local premises had incurred financial losses.

"We are really sorry about this and determined to put things right," they said.

"We are currently contacting the affected businesses via our loss adjustors, Crawfords, as part of our compensation process.

"We aim to contact all those affected businesses by 17:00 BST on Friday, 17 May."

The spokesperson the company was "doing everything" it could "to get things back to normal as soon as possible".