The Abbey Foregate area of Shrewsbury is now flooding as the River Severn sweeps around the old Gay Meadow site.

The football ground is no longer there, but it's affecting homes and businesses and the Shrewsbury College building by the English Bridge is closed today.

Luke McAuley at the Flaming Great takeaway took us around his shop.

With Shrewsbury preparing itself for what could be the highest river levels on record, Shropshire Council has decided the three indoor shopping centres will remain closed tomorrow.

The authority said it was out of consideration for the safety of staff and customers at the Darwin, Pride Hill and Riverside centres.

In Ironbridge, Telford and Wrekin Council is dealing with the rising River Severn, but elsewhere it's sending out gritting lorries this evening.

Temperatures in the area are forecast to drop to freezing point tonight and there could be some snow around.

Image source, Telford and Wrekin Council

This video shot by Nicky Jacques shows the extent of flooding in part of the Shropshire countryside where the River Severn meets the River Vyrnwy.

This shows the peaks at Melverley and Crew Green, she said. , external

The departing chief executive of Shropshire Council has thanked his staff for their "exemplary response to the floods over the last eleven days".

And Clive Wright said it: "Demonstrates what being part of the public sector is about."

He agreed to stand down from the post with immediate effect after a meeting with the leader of the council, Peter Nutting.

And the authority, which is in the middle of dealing with huge floods, is now being run by two acting chief executives - the executive director of adult social care, Andy Begley and executive director of children’s services, Karen Bradshaw.

Shropshire Star

Here are three headlines from the Shropshire Star today:

• Trains cancelled due to flooding, external
• Environment Secretary to visit flood-hit areas, external
• Warning as flooding expected in Bridgnorth, external

The Environment Agency now says the River Severn is likely to peak at the higher end of its predicted range.

So that could mean it reaching 5.5m at the Welsh Bridge in Shrewsbury and 6.9m in Ironbridge.

Residents in properties at risk of flooding in Ironbridge have been asked to leave the area, but some have decided to stay despite safety concerns.

"At the moment the water's not in our house," said Donna Smith.

"It's probably about an inch away from the front door," she added, "but we're all prepared and we'll just see how we go really."

The river level in Ironbridge is currently 6.6m and expected to peak later at 6.9m, said the Environment Agency.

The peak of the river is now expected at about midnight, said Marc Liddeth.

The River Severn in Bridgnorth is expected to peak at between 5m and 5.3m tomorrow morning and Shropshire Council staff have been offering advice to people in properties likely to flood.

Last week the river peaked at just over 5m and more than 40 properties in the town were affected, along with a nearby caravan park.

Image source, Shropshire Council

Steph Williams-Tinkler says she's "trapped but safe" in her property on Dale Road in Ironbridge.

"The water is now deeper than my wellies," she said.

"I did try and see if I could wade through it, but it's too deep now," she added.

"So I'm stuck in the house but it's not a huge problem - I've got food, I've got drink, I've got cat food, I've got cat litter - I'm alright.

"I've been here since 2004 and we've had a couple of flash floods that came from the brook up the hill when that overflowed, but we've never had anything from the river before and this is the third time in eight days now.

"It's the price you pay for living near a river, I guess."

River levels in Worcester are expected to peak tomorrow as the floodwater works its way down the River Severn, and that means a number of car parks will be underwater again.

Image source, Environment Agency

Worcestershire County Council has urged anyone parked in the Cattlemarket, Croft Road, Newport Street, Pitchcroft, or Tybridge Street car parks to move their vehicles now, or risk being stranded.

The council said that at the last check there were still 85 vehicles parked in the city centre car parks.

The chief executive of Shropshire Council, Clive Wright, has been asked to step down, while his authority battles to deal with flooding in the county.

It follows a vote at a meeting of the ruling Conservative group last night.

Mr Wright said he doesn't want to comment and the authority hasn't yet explained why he was asked to leave.

AFC Telford United have called off their match against Curzon Ashton tonight because the pitch at New Bucks Head is waterlogged.

The club said it would arrange a new date "to allow as much time as possible for the pitch to dry out".

Ironbridge resident Iwona Zielinska said her neighbour's car has become trapped in the floodwater.

Local resident Des Campbell said "it had the same problem last week".

"The car's completely dead so the person that owns it isn't really that worried about it happening this time."

"When it was pulled out of the water a week ago we opened the doors, and the water just poured out."

The river in Ironbridge is expected to peak in Shrewsbury at some point tonight, so the Environment Agency is urging people at risk not to wait until the middle of the night before leaving their homes.

It said the flood defences on The Wharfage should be able to hold back river levels of between 6.8m and 6.9m, and the Severn is expected to reach up to 6.9m, external so there is a danger it will be breached.

The EA said a number of people living in properties at risk have already taken the decision to move out, but others had decided to stay.

It is advising them to move valuables to a safe place and wrap them up in something protective and then get out.

You can see just how close the River Severn is coming to the railway bridge which takes trains in and out of Shrewsbury station in this picture.

Network Rail said all services are now being cancelled, except for those to and from Chester and Crewe.

Johnty O'Donnell
Producer, BBC Shropshire

It's been "all hands on deck" to prepare for flooding at a retail centre and factory in Ironbridge.

Sarah Holmes, director of Merrythought Village which includes the teddy bear factory, said all the businesses had "got together, collaborated and moved equipment upstairs or off-site" ahead of an expected peak of the River Severn later.

"We've had to stop production and move all our stock upstairs so that's obviously very costly and we hope not to have downtime for too long," she said.

"We hope the water doesn't raise too much further, we're at a point where there's not much more we can do.

"Now it's just a waiting game to see how far the river rises and there will obviously be the big clear-up afterwards."

Shrewsbury Town's match against Tranmere tonight is expected to go ahead, but fans travelling to the game might have their travel plans affected.

The club said the ground staff had been working hard on the pitch and the surrounding roads are all fine, but matchday shuttle buses won't be travelling from Raven Meadows in the town centre.

The club is also advising fans not to risk travelling by train, with a number of lines in and out of Shrewsbury station already closed because of flooding.

And it added: "If you are driving we would advise giving yourself extra time for your journey. With road closures around Shrewsbury town centre, this is having a knock-on effect on the volume of traffic on the roads surrounding the stadium."

This is the current view in Ironbridge where homes and businesses have been evacuated ahead of an expected peak of the River Severn.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

The council has asked for the public to avoid the area due to the possibility that the temporary flood barriers on the Wharfage could be overtopped.

A "prolonged" peak is expected either tonight or early on Wednesday morning, said Telford and Wrekin Council.