Schools across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire are closing today due to flooding:

In Herefordshire:, external

• Luston Primary, near Leominster, is closed due to both ends of the village being impassable
• Bredenbury Primary School, in Bromyard, will be closing at 13:00
• Michaelchurch Escley, in Hereford, is closed
• Stoke Prior Primary, also near Leominster, will be closed all day
• Fairfield High School, in Peterchurch, said it hoped to open as normal again on Friday

In Worcestershire:, external

• Blackminster Middle School, in Evesham, will close as soon as all children are collected
• Broadwas Primary School, in Martley, said it was being affected by flooding on the A44 on both sides of the village
• Eckington First School, also in Evesham, will close as soon as children are collected
• Himbleton First School, in Pershore, is now closed
• Honeybourne First School Academy, in Evesham, is planning to close
• Pebworth First School said roads nearby were becoming impassable

In Warwickshire, external two schools are affected:

• Acorns Primary School, in Long Compton, is fully closed
• Brailes Primary School, in Lower Brailes, is also closed

More flood warnings and alerts are expected across Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Shropshire as heavy rain continues, said the Environment Agency.

Image source, Environment Agency

The agency's Dave Throup said there had been heavy rain, in particular over the River Teme in Shropshire and Herefordshire and the Avon catchment in Warwickshire.

"Those rivers are responding pretty quickly," he said.

"There's a lot of standing water and it's only going one way - into the river system.

"We're going to see quite a few more more alerts and warnings through the course of today and then right through the weekend as it works its way into the already full River Severn.

"The ground is - we're calling it - super-saturated, you just can't get any more water in. So even small amounts of rainfall are coming straight off and ponding on the roads."

Nearly 30 roads in Worcestershire have been closed due to high flood water.

The council has issued this list, external.

And in Herefordshire there are problems on the A4110 at Canon Pyon; the B4348 at Allensmore-Dorstone; A438 at Whitney-on-Wye; and A438 near Portway Inn.

Image source, Old Station

Flood water has also started to cause problems on roads further north, in Shropshire.

There are reports of disruption on both the A49 in the county and on the A456.

BBC News Travel

Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry customers affected by the flooded rail lines can use their tickets on other services, said National Rail.

The closure is affecting services to Birmingham Moor Street and Snow Hill as well as Leamington Spa, Kidderminster and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Buses continue to be diverted away from Church Lawford in Warwickshire due to flooding at the railway bridge.

Coventry Road remains closed between School Street and Livingstone Avenue.

Some buses are being diverted away from the area.

BBC News Travel

Flood water is blocking the railway line between Banbury and Leamington Spa towards Birmingham.

Disruption is expected until 14:30 GMT, said National Rail.

Chiltern Railways and CrossCountry Trains services are affected.

Flood warnings have now been issued for the River Teme at Stanford Bridge and Leintwardine, Herefordshire.

Image source, Environment Agency

Flooding is affecting properties and roads around the area, with river levels set to keep rising until Friday morning.

More than a dozen less severe flood alerts have been issued across the whole of the West Midlands.

This is the scene in the village of Bodenham, Herefordshire, where heavy rain has been falling.

Image source, Step Counter

Image source, Step Couter

These were posted by BBC Weather Watcher Step Counter.

If you're experiencing flooding please share your pictures with us via email, Twitter, external and Facebook., external

Two cars became stranded in floods at Stockton Cross, near Leominster, said the fire service.

It has issued a reminder for drivers not to attempt to drive through deep water

Fairfield High School in Peterchurch, Herefordshire, has been closed as the routes to school are impassable due to flood water.

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Flooding is affecting roads across the West Midlands.

• The bridge over the River Avon is closed affecting traffic between Eckington and Birlingham in Worcestershire
• The B5062 in Shropshire remains closed in both directions for emergency repairs to the retaining walls of the bridge
• Gresy Lane, in Shavington, Crewe, is closed from Rape Lane to Gresty Lane.
• New Street is closed in both directions between A4104 Old Street and Upper Hood Road in Worcestershire
• Water Lane is closed between Lower Bullingham Lane and B4399 in Herefordshire.

River levels around Shropshire are being monitored closely after flood defences went up in Shrewsbury on Wednesday.

Barriers have also been put up at Hereford and in Upton-upon-Severn and Bewdley, in Worcestershire, where Environment Agency workers remained overnight.

Image source, Environment Agency

More than a dozen flood alerts remain in place, external across the West Midlands.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

A £4m fund has been set up to encourage leisure companies in Stratford-upon-Avon to get people in the town more active.

The Stratford district councillor responsible for leisure, Sarah Whalley-Hoggins, said the authority was looking for "out of the box" thinking and the money would be available as a loan to allow them to expand their services.

Image source, Getty Images

There are four leisure centres across the district, in Stratford, Southam, Shipston and Studley.

The winning bidder would also have to include Alcester’s Greig Lifestyles Centre in its plans.

The council said a number of businesses had already shown an interest.

Periods of rain are expected to become widespread across the West Midlands and there's a possibility of flooding, the Met Office is warning. , external

Image source, Met Office

Snow could also fall on higher ground in Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire, it said.

The yellow warning for snow is in place until 10:00, with the rain warning until the end of the day.

Rich Davis
BBC Weather presenter

It will be a cold and breezy day with heavy rain and lows of 6C (43F).

BBC News Travel

There's currently five miles of queuing traffic on the M6 southbound in Staffordshire due to over-running roadworks.

One line is closed from J14 to J13.

A crash is also causing problems between J15 and J14.

Vanessa Pearce
BBC News

Welcome to our live service for Thursday.

We'll be bringing you all the news, sport, travel and weather for the West Midlands region.

You can share your news, thoughts and photos of the area with us via email,Twitter , externaland Facebook, external.

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