The main bridge in Worcester remains shut after parts of the city flooded.

Image source, Environment Agency

The River Severn was expected to peak overnight with the Environment Agency saying it could take some time to fall, especially with more rain forecast. , external

Worcestershire County Council closed the bridge along New Road yesterday afternoon and said this morning it's still shut along with two footbridges.

River levels have fallen in Bridgnorth, Shropshire, but the Environment Agency's warning residents there could still be more flooding by the weekend.

Image source, @Woodgy

It said the level at 06:00 was 5.04m in the area, external, down 16cm (6in) since the river's peak.

However, with three flood warnings still covering Bridgnorth,, external the agency's said flooding continues and the weather forecast's unsettled for the next few days.

Five roads and two car parks had to be closed yesterday and some bus services were disrupted, Shropshire Council said, external.

Image source, @Woodgy

Flood defences in Bewdley, Worcestershire, appear to have held overnight although the River Severn remains high.

Image source, Environment Agency

Water came over the top of temporary defences in the Beales Corner area of the town during Tuesday evening and into Wednesday.

About 40 properties were either flooded or at risk and on Wednesday some residents were rescued on a fire service dinghy, although 12 people chose to stay in their homes.

Four flood warnings still cover the area , externalwith the EA saying it expects river levels to remain high today.

The level of the River Severn throughout Shropshire is starting to fall, the Environment Agency's tweeted.

Spokesman Chris Bainger said the level in Shrewsbury was down by 80cm (31in) with levels in Ironbridge and Bridgnorth also falling.

More wintry weather is being forecast.

Image source, Met Office

The Met Office has two yellow weather warnings for today, external which, between them, cover the whole of the West Midlands.

One, for snow and ice, covers much of the north of the Midlands including most of Shropshire and says there could be wintry showers and icy patches until 10:00.

The second stretches across the rest of Shropshire as well as Herefordshire and Worcestershire and warns of sleet and snow until midday.

Flood barriers in Ironbridge, Shropshire, can no longer protect homes and businesses, the Environment Agency's warned overnight.

The barriers at Wharfage have been compromised and safety, posessions and homes are at risk, it said., external

Image source, West Midlands Ambulance Service

However, the agency added the level of the River Severn has started to fall in places although floodwater along the Wharfage could still reach a depth of 1.8m.

Yesterday, 35 homes were evacuated in the area as an emergency measure when a flood barrier buckled.

Overnight, West Midlands Ambulance Service commander Tim Atherton tweeted the barriers in Ironbridge were holding and pumps were working.

A severe "danger to life" flood warning , externalremains for the Ironbridge area.

There's "another 10 days of difficult conditions" to come people living in flooded areas are being warned.

There are fears Shropshire and Worcestershire, where evacuations have been taking place, will be further affected following predicted heavy rain in Wales.

Yesterday, barriers holding back the River Severn at Ironbridge buckled and water seeped underneath.

Elsewhere, the same river overtopped defences in Bewdley, Worcestershire.

Allen Cook
BBC News

Good morning, we'll have the latest on the flooding situation in the West Midlands, especially in Shropshire and Worcestershire.

You can get in touch with us via email,Twitter, external and Facebook, external.

That brings to an end Wednesday's coverage of flooding in the West Midlands.

We'll be back with more live updates from 06:00 on Thursday.

Police say, external "another 10 days of difficult conditions" are anticipated in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, with a multi-agency response set to continue during the period.

Dep Ch Const Julian Moss from West Mercia Police said it's because flood waters were set to recede slowly and would likely be topped up with further rain over the weekend, external.

Image source, West Mercia Police

He said: "We would therefore ask people to take this into consideration when making accommodation arrangements for themselves and any pets or livestock.

“We encourage everyone to heed the flood advice and remain vigilant around flood water."

Chris Bainger of the Environment Agency added: "We have a bit of respite, we’ve just got showers moving through over the next couple of days, but coming into Friday, we have another band of rain coming through that’s going to be up in the Welsh mountains and that’s going to be coming to us in this area perhaps Saturday, and we are getting ourselves ready for that.

"We’ve already planned another 10 days of being on 24/7-manning of our incident rooms and having operational staff at all of our barriers."

People using portable petrol pumps to dry out rooms after flooding are being warned of the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service says such pumps should always be kept and operated outdoors, as the fumes can be highly poisonous.

People in Bewdley have raised more than £1,100 for the Severn Area Rescue Association, external, to say thank you for its support during the floods.

The charity supports the emergency services in water rescues on and around the River Severn. Its volunteers have been out in the town over the past few days as a precaution.

Image source, Linda Withey

Seven car parks around Shrewsbury remain closed on Wednesday evening, although a severe flood warning has been lifted, and Shropshire Council is telling people the town is open for business.

That includes the Theatre Severn, on the banks of the river, where all performances are going ahead.

Image source, Shropshire Council

Dave Throup, the Environment Agency's manager for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, said water levels are still "just about rising" in Worcester.

In a post on Twitter, external, he said: "They are highest levels for 20 years.

"We're seeing quite a bit of disruption...there is quite a few roads closed."

Image source, Dave Throup

He said the Severn was peaking in Bewdley, Worcestershire, with the defences on the town side "holding well", although there was flooding on the Beales Corner side, where water had come over the top of barriers.

The peak would work down to Upton-on-Severn, Worcestershire, on Thursday, he said, but the agency was not expecting it to rise above levels seen last week.

He added the Environment Agency was gearing up for the next lot of rain over Wales on Friday and Saturday.

More than 3,100 sandbags have been handed out to people in Bridgnorth - and more are available, Shropshire Council says.

That figure includes 800 that were distributed in the past two days alone.

Across the wider county, the authority has handed out about 10,200 sandbags as flooding take its toll.

Although river levels in Bridgnorth have started to fall, there are still road closures affecting Doctors Lane, Riverside and Severn Side South, with two car parks also closed.

We told you earlier of firefighters' successful efforts to refuel water pumps along the Wharfage in Ironbridge where water seeped through a barrier this afternoon, leading to the evacuation of homes.

It's bought engineers time to bolster and inspect the buckled flood defences there.

But Dave Sidaway, chief executive of Telford and Wrekin Council, said the inspections would still have to wait until river levels fell somewhat.

Mr Sidaway added "it's heartbreaking what our residents go through", but promised his authority would "throw everything at this" to protect Ironbridge people and their properties.

Here's what the fire service had to say about the task of keeping those pumps pumping...

The Darwin shopping centre in Shrewsbury is due to reopen tomorrow, Shropshire Council says.

It was closed because of flooding along Raven Meadows and around the town centre.

The other two council-owned shopping centres in the town, the Riverside and Pride Hill, will remain closed for the time being, the authority says.

Shropshire Council says it expects to be able to get onto flooded Shrewsbury roads Smithfield and Longden Coleham early tomorrow morning to start the clean-up operation.

And it hopes to have the roads reopened by Friday.

The water level by the Welsh Bridge in town has now dropped to 4.66m, from a peak of more than 5.1m on Tuesday.

Firefighters have made it through floodwater in Ironbridge to refuel the pumps taking water away from the Wharfage.

There had been concern earlier over whether it was safe to get to them, with water continuing to leak under the barrier.

The Environment Agency has downgraded the severe flood warning for Shrewsbury and expects to do the same for Ironbridge tomorrow, as river levels continue to fall.

But it warned they might have to be reintroduced, with more rain forecast in the coming days.

The severe flood warning is the stiffest of its kind, and points to a risk to life.