Allen Cook
BBC News

If you are just joining us:

• In Ironbridge, residents have been warned they may be told to evacuate if river levels get near the top of flood barriers

• A five-storey building appears to be leaning as it is buffeted by strong winds in Stoke-on-Trent
• Dozens of flood warnings remain in place in the West Midlands with most along the course of the River Severn
• Train services have been disrupted with trees blocking some railway lines including between Burton-upon-Trent and Birmingham New Street

BBC News Travel

A tree is blocking the lines between Burton-upon-Trent and Birmingham New Street with another obstacle blocking the line between Derby and Burton.

All lines on the CrossCountry route between Birmingham and Derby are currently blocked.

There's also a speed restriction on the lines between Birmingham and Cardiff and another object blocking lines in and out of Stoke-on-Trent. Services may be cancelled, delayed by up to 30 minutes or revised.

Most rail operators serving the West Midlands are advising people not to travel.

BBC Radio Shropshire

Computer modelling shows river levels could get close to the top of the flood barriers in Ironbridge, the Environment Agency says.

Residents are being warned they could have to evacuate.

Image source, Environment Agency

Flood barriers are up but the Environment Agency said computer models show it could get close to the maximum height.

In 2020 an emergency evacuation took place in the town when flood defences were overwhelmed and buckled.

Telford and Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies said they might have to take the same action and residents should keep a close eye on the latest updates.

"That decision [to evacuate] has not been made at this point in time but people need to keep updated with the Environment Agency, the council and BBC Radio Shropshire," he said.

Image source, BBC Weather Watcher Beagling About

Drivers parked in a Worcester car park are being urged to move their cars as water levels rise rapidly.

The flooding is affecting the Pitchcroft site, the city council said on Monday morning., external

Image source, Worcester City Council

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency warned residents along the River Severn about an increasing risk of flooding following the heavy rains of storms Eunice and Franklin.

More than a dozen flood warnings remain in place along the length of the waterway., external

One area the Environment Agency has been keeping a close eye on is Bewdley, Worcestershire, which has seen repeated flooding in the past couple of years.

Flood barriers in the town were breached in January 2021 and in February 2020 and the agency made changes after a review.

Image source, Environment Agency

Heavy rain from storms Franklin and Eunice have seen the River Severn rise in the town and barriers were put up "in terrible conditions" on Sunday afternoon, the agency added.

Three flood warnings remain in place today for the town with residents warned river levels will keep rising., external

John Bray
BBC News

The River Severn has burst its banks in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, as you can see from this video:

A five-storey building appears to be leaning as it is buffetted by strong winds.

Part of a road in Stoke-on-Trent has been closed due to safety fears about the building as Storm Franklin hits.

Image source, Google

Regent Road, in Hanley, has been shut in both directions from Lower Bethesda Street to Houghton Street.

Churchill House, a five-storey building, is the affected building, the city council said., external

The route will remain closed for at least the rest of Monday as experts cannot assess it until winds die down, the council says.

Parts of Bridgnorth are underwater this morning, including the rugby club which has repeatedly been flooded:

People living along the River Severn in the Shropshire town,are being warned by the Environment Agency , externalto expect more flooding as the water level keeps rising.

BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

Villagers badly flooded a few years ago spent their weekend cleaned out ditches and removing fallen trees in a bid to stop it happening again.

Walford, near Leintwardine, Herefordshire, suffered severe flooding in 2020.

Garry Jones, from the Walford Flood Action Group, said they took action to tackle the problem and despite suffering similar levels of water due to heavy rain at the weekend, no-one appears to have had their home flooded.

But he said drivers have struggled: "The problem we have got today is people trying to come through the floodwater and they are breaking down."

Mr Jones showed the BBC how bad the flooding got in 2020.

Rail companies are advising people to delay journeys as service reductions are in place. Trees have also fallen blocking some of the lines.

Chiltern Railways said the Met Office had issued a yellow weather warning for much of its network on Monday as the storm moves in.

It said it would be running a reduced service with "short notice significant delays" and stated cancellations were likely.

Avanti West Coast which serves routes through Coventry, Birmingham and Staffordshire, said it was strongly advising people travelling on Monday that they should delay their journeys until after 10:00 GMT if they could.

Services were "subject to speed restrictions, delays and cancellations".

Trains are not able to run between Crewe, Cheshire, and Manchester Piccadilly due to a tree on the line near Gatley, National Rail Enquiries warned. , external

While bus services have been disrupted in Staffordshire due to fallen trees:

Shrewsbury bus station is shut due to a risk of rising waters closing routes into and out of the site and The Dingle gardens in Quarry Park is also shut.

Executive director for place at the council Mark Barrow said at Welsh Bridge in the town levels had reached about 4.19m earlier and it was expecting an increase to between 4.6m and 5.1m on Tuesday.

He added: "Just to put that in context the highest we recorded was 5.25. Yeah, [it's] really getting quite high."

Image source, Shrewsbury Police

Flood barriers have gone up in Frankwell, Shrewsbury, with car parks along the Severn shut.

There were many roads flooded in and around Shrewsbury and there were closures and diversions in place, police said.

In Ironbridge flood barriers are in place and the Wharfage is closed along with Ferry Road in Jackfield.

Image source, Telford and Wrekin Council

Ironbridge Antiques, Arts & Crafts Centre said it was closed on Monday and for the next few days "while we wait and see how high the river level will be this time".

In a tweet, external, it asked people to please not come to Ironbridge unless it was essential "as there are lots of road closures". Parking was "limited" as most of the car parks had been taken up by residents and Environment Agency equipment, the centre added.

Flood warnings run the length of the River Severn in Worcestershire, external with fpumps deployed in Worcester and Powick, and flood gates closed in Upton upon Severn.

Image source, Worcester City Council

The fire service said it is dealing with multiple flooding incidents and warned people to stay out of floodwater.

In Herefordshire, flooding has affected roads around Leintwardine, Walford and Adforton.

Temporary barriers are up in Hereford, where water levels in the Wye are expected to peak at lunchtime.

Dozens of flood warnings are in place across the West Midlands, external with the majority along the River Severn through Shropshire and Worcestershire.

Image source, Environment Agency

The alerts mean flooding is expected after Storm Franklin has followed Storm Eunice in bringing heavy rain to the region.

BBC Radio Shropshire

These photos show how high the River Severn has risen in Shrewsbury, where the Environment Agency has put up flood barriers:

Allen Cook
BBC News

As Storm Franklin continues to cause disruption in the West Midlands, we will be updating you on the latest from around the region.